Senior loneliness and isolation are more than just buzzwords—it’s a very real problem that only grew during the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns. In 2019, up to 40% of Americans over age 45 suffered from chronic loneliness. People experiencing social isolation and loneliness are more likely to report having poor physical and/or mental health; they show links to serious health problems such as chronic lung disease, arthritis, impaired mobility, high blood pressure and depression; and their chance of premature death increases by 14%.
While vaccines are rolling out and some states are lifting their restrictions, isolation remains a problem for seniors. And some states tackled the issue head on, offering an innovative way to play and have companionship in isolation.
Ageless Innovation, the makers of Joy for All Companion Pets has partnered with 17 states (Florida, New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, Washington, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Arizona, Nevada, Maryland, Indiana and California) to bring Companion Pets to lonely, isolated seniors. Ted Fischer, co-founder and CEO of Ageless Innovation, sat down with us to talk about the loneliness epidemic, the company’s partnerships and what’s on the horizon.
1. Most experts agree that the pandemic has increased senior isolation. What are you hearing from your partners? What are you seeing in your work?
There's no question that the pandemic has shown a bright spotlight on an already a growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. But if you think about all the protective measures that have been put in place to keep older adults safe—by their very nature we further isolated them. So now they are disconnected from their peers, disconnected from their families, their caregivers, their loved ones. And across our partner channels we're hearing the same without question—whether it's our state partners who are searching for solutions to help lonely, isolated seniors, or our health care channel, or just families and in need of ways to help provide comfort and companionship and some joy and happiness during this time.
There are a bunch of solutions out there—from simple communication-based solutions to our pets. I've said a few times that without question, if there's one positive that the pandemic may have caused it's a further spotlight on this epidemic that was existing and growing. But now it's being talked about quite a bit. So we see that if there is a silver lining or a bright light, it is certainly that we hope that dialogue continues.
2. Do you have any tips for HME and home health providers to help alleviate isolation?
I think it's really simple communication. I think we all have limited interaction, limited time, limited ability to truly interact with folks during this time. But we believe the power of play is an incredible weapon that can be used. It's an under-utilized weapon. And it's actually very simple to employ. It's usually free and it’s whatever you can do to make someone in their situation happier, more joyful, more playful. I'm no doctor, but what I've seen is when people are happier, they feel better.
3. You are working on state distribution products for the Companion Pets. How did those agreements happen? What’s the status of the project?
A year before the pandemic, we conducted a pilot with the state of New York and their office of aging and Greg Olsen—the director—was a big advocate. He saw the pets and the anecdotal evidence of their impact and he decided to test it out. We needed a year's worth of research on the impact of the pets on lonely, isolated seniors. And then in March of last year, as this whole thing started, he reached out to me and said, “Hey, we're about to face the worst epidemic of loneliness and isolation” as he saw what was going to start to happen to keep people safe.
He wanted to deepen our partnership quickly. Within two weeks we had an agreement, so we had skin in the game. They bought 1100 pets for those most in need. Then I got a call from secretary Purdom in Florida. He was very interested in what we were doing, thought the product was great and similar to Olsen said, “Hey, we're about to face something we've never faced before.” And two weeks later we had a partnership agreement signed with Florida. They put in their first order of about 750 to a thousand pets. And they've probably ordered almost 10,000 pets at this point.
Florida actually made it available to anyone who goes on their website and checks that they are lonely and isolated. And then Olsen and Purdom started talking about it on weekly calls with their counterparts around the country. That sort of snowballed into 1- state partnerships for us and dozens and dozens of Area Agencies on Aging (AAA). But we've created these partnership agreements that have allowed us to really serve those most in need.
I don't think there's a day that goes by that one of the state directors doesn't send me a video or a note or a picture of somebody receiving one of their pets. That never gets old. I think Greg Olsen was the one who said early on that we can change people's lives for a hundred bucks, so we're going to do it every day. We really see this as an ongoing program, beyond the pandemic, because it's having a positive impact on folks.
4. Who chooses who gets a Pet? Is there monitoring to check outcomes?
Every state is running their own program and they've decided who's most in need. We have many Pets that go directly to homebound seniors. In New York we just distribute in one big bulk shipment; they’ve put in a few different orders for over a thousand. We send that thousand to New York to a warehouse and they distribute the Pets. In Florida, they didn't have the opportunity to do that to a centralized location, so we actually shipped directly to seniors. We've been very flexible in how we do it to help the states address what they need.
New York started with a one-year study and found that the impact was 70% of recipients had improved and resilience and optimism and less depression. Alabama was one of our partners early on and they did their first group as a pilot. And in that pilot, they worked with us and other states to determine how and what to measure. That pilot is all measured on a regular basis. Florida decided to measure when localities wanted tracking, but also looked at the big body research. So every state's doing it a little definitely in terms of measurement.
5. What’s next for Joy for All?
I can't say too much, but I will say that we have a robust product roadmap and in the next 30 to 60 days, we'll be announcing a new product. I can't say much about it, but we'll address the needs of older adults in a very fun and playful way as is our is our purpose and our mission. I'm really excited about the future. We're taking our cues from older adults, so we're listening very intently on what the needs are. We're not a ‘build it and they will come’ type of company; we’re person centered, meaning let's listen to the people who actually are living it and know it and let's try and respond with our differentiated approach and fun and joy and play and see if we can have some meaningful impact.
