I was shocked to read that Riverbend Community Mental Health and Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association were among major recipients of Payroll Protection Program loans, which are only available to organizations with reduced operations and revenues.

Some experts believe that excess deaths, including suicide of those who fail to receive diagnosis or treatment for other life-threatening conditions due to the COVID-19 crisis, may actually exceed deaths from the coronavirus directly.

There is no doubt that many people are more stressed-out since the virus than before, so therapists should have had a booming business with therapy for mental conditions highly amenable to being done over the telephone, by video, or across wide rooms. Many therapists were already so busy with wellness appointments that they had no time for emergent cases.

If Riverbend really did $5 million less of what was previously considered necessary services, that is a health crisis in itself.

Another article told about the difficulties other VNAs had getting venues for treatment. Surely portable tents like those used for COVID testing set up in the parking lots of former venues would be suitable for taking blood pressures and cutting toenails, and incidentally spotting more serious conditions in an already under-served population.

The VNA should also push back against the state/city attitude that senior citizens should just hide away until they die and get senior centers reopened if only for medical screenings.

There is no doubt that a nursing home resident is likely be weaker than a non-resident or they wouldn’t be there, hence more likely to die once infected with a virus. However, nursing homes had normal procedures to deal with other contagious illnesses long before COVID-19, so residents should be less likely to be exposed to COVID-19 than outsiders.

If the state cared more about senior citizens, they would spend more time trying to figure out how the virus spreads in nursing homes, and just issue universal guidelines for other businesses rather than trying to micro-manage different types. The selection of age 60 for denial of services instead of 55 or 70 is arbitrary and should be considered age discrimination. And instead of issuing a statewide mask order that the state has no way of enforcing, the governor should make it clear that individual businesses can issue their own orders, which they do have the ability to enforce.

Surely some senior citizens have a home where they are better off staying for the duration of the epidemic, but as that may be for another year this is unhealthy and unrealistic for others, particularly for those who live alone.

A relatively safe place to socialize would seem to be indicated but the city of Concord is refusing to provide this. The so-called multi-generational community center is not allowed to have other groups while youth summer camps are in session, and the city won’t consider senior activities in other spaces, such as the West Street Ward House or the city complex downtown. They tried a Zoom meeting 3 months into the shutdown (as if after 3 months anyone with an Internet connection hasn’t found all the Zoom activities they want), but the equipment didn’t work. Their suggestion is that seniors can exercise outside in the rain and humidity among all the others not wearing masks.

This is not healthy and it’s not fair, and the city needs to solve its problems at home before trying to solve national issues.

(Roy Schweiker lives in Concord.)