Ypsilanti Seniors Receive Robotic Companions to Reduce Feelings of Isolation

ClickOnDetroit reports that residents at the Gilbert Residence assisted living community in Ypsilanti, Mich., have received robotic pets and new ways to connect with loved ones. Electronic cats and dogs gifted by the Area Agency on Aging 1-B (AAA 1-B) comfort owners by purring, barking, blinking, wagging their tails, and turning their heads, "When it's more difficult to reach somebody through our usual ways of reaching them, an animal has a way of making someone smile," said Gilbert Residence Life Enrichment Director Maureen Pawlak. AAA 1-B also is using a CARES Act grant to provide residents baby dolls, Amazon Echo Show 8 tablets, Simple Music Players, Super Ear listening devices, and therapy dolls. The gadgets help mitigate social isolation by connecting seniors with family through video visits, playing music, and offering something to nurture. The nonprofit agency is gifting more than 600 devices to 29 nursing homes within its service area, which covers over 760,000 seniors ages 60 and older and adults with disabilities in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Washtenaw counties.