Promotional Spotlight Special Edition: 50plusLife

50plusLife offers invaluable information and support to seniors during COVID-19

Donna Anderson, publisher of 50plusLife, created the publication more than 25 years ago after volunteering with the Lancaster County Office of Aging. Her goal was to provide a resource for the aging demographic, and she says she specifically aimed to assist with the isolation that group of individuals can experience. Over 25 years the publication has grown to serve six south central Pennsylvania counties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has instituted rules and guidelines for contact with older citizens and, more specifically, with residents in nursing homes and other assisted living facilities – making Anderson’s vision for the publication all the more relevant and important for the population it serves. “Now more than ever older Pennsylvanians are alone – completely – because their family cannot visit them,” said Anderson. “We are trying to help them to continue to feel connected to their community and to the issues that matter the most to them.”

Anderson and the 50plusLife team realized that the range of issues that affect the aging population in Pennsylvania varies greatly, so they worked diligently to make the publication’s content reflect that range. The April publication included information for seniors and their caregivers, including articles about how Medicare is covering COVID-19-related issues, how caregivers can manage working with individuals who might be COVID-19 positive and, when necessary, how to make the transition to assisted care facilities. The May 50plusLife issue and website will include information to assist readers with the use of virtual options for activities and needs ranging from yoga to property appraisals. Anderson said the 50plusLife team was also aware of the importance of promoting positivity in the May issue, with messages of hope and lighthearted columns amidst the more serious COVID-19 related material. “It’s really a sweet spot we have to find,” said Anderson. “We need to help readers stay hopeful while also providing them with the information they need and can use during this truly unprecedented time in the world.”

50plusLife has continued to be issued in both print and digital through the COVID-19 pandemic. Anderson said this is necessary for a large number of readers who rely on the print edition. “The demand is clearly there,” said Anderson. “Some of our readers are simply not on the internet – they have no other resources for the information we provide.” With this in mind, 50plusLife has increased its distribution to include issues supplied to local Meals on Wheels programs in addition to the grocery stores, pharmacies, medical practices and retirement communities where it is regularly distributed. Anderson and the 50plusLife team also have a printed resource directory available for all readers, and Anderson reported the demand for the directory has increased drastically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The directory includes information to help readers navigate through finding alternative providers for services they previously received at senior centers as well as additional options for home care providers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Anderson and her team found the connection that the 50plusLife readership felt to a centralized print news product even more significant. “These people trust print – because they grew up with it, and they can hold it in their hands, and bond with it,” said Anderson. “There is something to be said for that relationship and that trust.”

For more information, contact Donna Anderson at 717-285-8155 or danderson@onlinepub.com.

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