#1609: A Doctor's COVID-19 Help Rebuffed

On this week’s 51%, a doctor explains what happened when she offered her help during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also hear from a woman who co-founded a community dance class that helps senior citizens fight inactivity and isolation.

A doctor from Pensacola, Fla. answered the call for healthcare workers to sign up in other states to help with the COVID-19 crisis. The thing is, she ran into an unexpected barrier. 51%’s Bob Barrett has her story.

Even before coronavirus, loneliness and social isolation affected millions of senior citizens across the U.S.. The pandemic has only exacerbated these feelings with social distancing and quarantines.

In Nashville’s historically black Hadley Park neighborhood, older adults bond over their shared love of an activity that many of them have been doing their entire lives. David Condos brings us the story of one of the group’s founding members and how she was fighting to keep this community together before COVID-19 hit.

This piece is part of the Transom traveling workshop at WPLN in Nashville. You can find out more about the Hadley Park Dancers and their upcoming classes and performances on Facebook.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio