Contending with COVID-19

In March 2020, we temporarily closed all of our Social Security Hearing Offices due to the Coronavirus pandemic and are not offering in-person hearings. During the office closures, we are providing two flexible, safe, and secure hearing options: either a telephone hearing or our new option of an online video hearing. Additional information on both of these hearing options is available here: www.ssa.gov/appeals/hearing_options.html ...

If you’re losing sleep over COVID-19, you’re not alone. In fact, some people have coined pandemic-related sleeplessness, ‘coronasomnia.' Cleveland Clinic’s Michelle Drerup, PsyD, says people are stressed over the virus and everything that’s changed because of it. “There are a lot of things impacting sleep based on the current situation,” she says. “Number one, probably most obvious, is increased anxiety and stress that people are experiencing. Not only in regards to the actual virus but also the impact on our financial, work, academic, things like that.”  ...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the library is offering a new free service, Words on Wheels, to adult residents of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District which includes Cleveland, Bratenahl, Newburgh Heights and Linndale. ...

“Whether it's acetaminophen or ibuprofen or Naprosyn, all those are available over the counter. They're all helpful. We had some concerns in the early days of COVID about a possible worsening or conflict with using ibuprofen or Naprosyn, but those haven't turned out to be true,” Dr. Donald Ford of the Cleveland Clinic says. ...

Welcome to Caregiver Corner by Boomer's newest blogger, Jennifer Beach, LSW, MA, C-SWCM. Jennifer established Advocate for Elders in Rocky River in 2010. In this debut blog entry, Jennifer discusses the challenges families face as they anticipate the holidays — apart instead of together — during the ongoing pandemic. ...

Assuming a holidays-as-usual approach is a dangerous exercise in denial, especially if you’re accustomed to traveling long distances to celebrate together with lots of distant relatives. Travel and social interaction both increase the odds of getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. So staying home and limiting contact is the best way to protect yourself and others.  ...

Research shows that full-service restaurants, gyms, hotels, cafes, religious organizations and limited-service restaurants are the biggest contributors to the spread the virus causing COVID-19. These locations pose more risk because that's where Americans tend to spend longer amounts of time with a higher density of people. ...

"COVID has brought to attention the underlying risks of being overweight or having a chronic disease and getting very sick,” says Mark Hyman, M.D., of Cleveland Clinic. “So, people are paying more attention to their health and they’re spending more time outdoors, they’re sleeping better, they’re eating better, they’re exercising more.” ...