Dear Editor COVID-19 has ravaged through the lives of individuals, families, communities, and societies and, in the process, exacerbated existing vulnerabilities, oppression, and poverty among our most at-risk older adults. Social workers, guided by values and ethics, are counteracting these ailments in society, concentrating on protecting the most vulnerable. As described in the guiding Code of Ethics and Values, the primary mission of social work, "is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty" (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], 2017, para. 1). Social workers are demonstrating heroic work on the frontlines. Here we describe the impact of COVID-19 on older adults and highlight the current role of the practicing social worker putting these values in action during COVID-19. Older adults are at a significantly higher risk for COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020a). Eight out of 10 deaths reported have been among adults who are aged 65 years and above (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020a), with a reported mortality rate of approximately 15% (Wu & McGoogan, 2020). These devastating consequences of COVID-19 are impacting older adults, family, and friends. Older adults living independently relying on various community services may now be faced with an inability to meet their basic needs (e.g., housing and nutrition). Aging adults watching the news are witnessing deaths; family members who have lost a loved one are unable to arrange or attend funeral services, and aging family members displaced are unable to connect with those most important to them, resulting in loss and grief in isolation. Similarly, and perhaps more so, older adults in senior living facilities are aggressively impacted by COVID-19. Nursing facilities are home to the most atrisk seniors, with over 7,000 residents having died as a direct result of this pandemic (Bunis, 2020). Residents who have not contracted COVID-19 may have witnessed a roommate or friend succumb to this virus. Residents with family are now faced with extreme isolation, as restrictions to visitation were implemented. Likewise, family members may be faced with an extreme sense of guilt and loss of placing their loved one in a nursing home (Hagen, 2001). The reduction in staff and key personnel due to the risks associated with COVID-19, while a practical response to the current pandemic, may impact resident wellbeing. These relationships between staff and residents are found to be important

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Background: Care coordination involves multiple participants (healthcare providers and patients) working together to ensure the appropriate delivery of care. Face-to-face interactions between individuals is a critical component of care coordination in clinical settings. An accurate and detailed description and quantification of contacts provide key information about how providers interact with patients and for intervention development to improve care coordination. Using proximity data collected from Radio-Frequency IDentification(RFID) wearable sensors, this study aimed to understand network structure and interaction patterns in relation to different positional roles in care coordination.Methods and Findings: Social network analysis was used to analyze a secondary dataset collected from RFID sensors that detect close-range face-to-face interactions between individuals in a geriatric unit of a university hospital in France. Two questions were explored: (1) how do interaction patterns differ related to different roles (nursing staff, doctors, patients and administrative staff)? And (2) how do the interaction patterns differ within the same roles on the geriatric unit? Over 4 days and nights, interaction patterns and network measures, such as centrality and cohesion, among providers (n = 46) and patients (n = 29) varied greatly depending on the shifts of day and different clinical roles. Conclusion:Wearable sensors provide a novel way to objectively capture network data to understand ego-centric and system-level interaction patterns in care coordination. Realtime longitudinal measurement of face-to-face interactions can provide important information on structural mechanisms in relation to different role responsibilities and functions in the context of care coordination in geriatric clinical care settings.

Objectives Social work has a long history of responding to the needs of vulnerable populations during times of crisis and disaster. Social workers are working at the front lines responding to the current COVID-19 pandemic in a variety of health care practice settings, including nursing homes, however it is unclear how social workers perceive their preparedness during this time. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional survey to nursing home social workers via social media on feelings of preparedness for COVID-19, what has been most professionally helpful for social workers during these times in their role in COVID-19, as well as demographic questions. Demographic data were analyzed using SPSS and qualitative data were analyzed using the rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) technique. Results Data are based on a sample of 63 (N=63) nursing home social workers. Findings revealed that while some social workers felt prepared for the coronavirus, many respondents stated that they were unprepared to meet the demands and challenges they were facing. Moreover, participants shared that professional support was critically important to get through COVID-19. Discussion These findings are important, as social workers are tasked with ensuring each resident attains their highest level of psychosocial well-being, which can be achieved only when nursing home staff are supported. Findings from the present study suggest that additional support for nursing home staff ought to include peer mentoring and mutual support. Additionally, improved leadership across health care settings is worth assessing.