In this episode, Jolie talks with Dr. Vivian Miller, assistant professor of social work and Director of the Optimal Aging Institute, and Dr. Nancy Kusmaul, an associate professor in the Baccalaureate Social Work program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. They discuss how COVID impacted older adults and what the pandemic exposed about the need for social connectivity practices in long-term care facilities.
Announcer:From Bowling Green State University and the Institute for the Study of Culture & Society, this is BG Ideas.
Musical Intro:I'm going to show you this with a wonderful experiment.
Jolie: You're listening to the Big Ideas podcast. a collaboration between the Institute for the Study of Culture & Society and the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. I'm Dr. Jolie Sheffer, associate professor of English and American culture studies and the director of ICS. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we're not recording in the studio, but remotely via phone and computer. Our sound quality may differ as a result. As always, the opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of BGSU or its employees. Bowling Green State University's campuses are situated in the Great Black Swamp and the Lower Great Lakes region. This land is the homeland of the Wyandotte, Kickapoo, Miami, Pottawatomie, Ottawa, and multiple other Indigenous tribal nations present and past who were forcibly removed to and from the area. We recognize these historical and contemporary ties and our efforts towards de-colonizing history. And we honor the Indigenous individuals and communities who have been living and working on this land from time immemorial.
Jolie: Today, I'm joined by Dr. Vivian Miller and Dr. Nancy Kusmaul. Vivian is an assistant professor in social work in the College of Health and Human Services and serves as director of the Optimal Aging Institute at BGSU. Her research focuses on supporting older adults living in long term care, including the mental health of vulnerable and isolated older adults. Nancy is an associate professor in the Baccalaureate Social Work Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She worked in healthcare for more than a decade, including nursing homes, hospitals, home care, and adult daycare. Her research focuses on organizational culture, trauma-informed care, and the impact of trauma experiences on the workforce. Vivian and Nancy, thank you so much for joining me today.
Vivian:Thank you.
Nancy:Thank you for having us.
Jolie:Today, we're discussing how the pandemic has specifically affected social connectivity for older adults. Just start with, could you each tell us a little bit about how you got interested in working with older adults, this kind of population? Nancy, would you start us off?
Nancy:Sure. It goes way back for me. I mean, when I was a kid, I was the one who was always with the grandparents and the great grandparents at the family gatherings. And so, I always knew I wanted a career doing something with older adults. Fell into social work and worked in... My first job in social work was in long-term care and never looked back.
Jolie:And what about for you, Vivian?
Vivian:Similarly, time with my grandparents and particularly in between my bachelor's and master's degree, I spent about every day with my late grandfather who lived in a senior living facility. And I found myself leveraging my social work skills to advocate for him and other residents and found the importance of being there, being connected to him and also being connected to other residents who didn't necessarily have family visit regularly.
Jolie:Could you describe some of the social connectivity practices and support systems used by nursing home and long-term care facilities prior to the pandemic? What was the kind of typical or what were the range of some of those typical support systems?
Vivian:Yeah.
