Forbes.com spotlights SeniorBridge's leadership in addressing isolation in older people, especially those who have remote family members and friends 

Forbes.com - August 24, 2010

Turns out, social isolation may actually be one of the biggest risk factors for human mortality.

"Social contacts are often related to your life-cycle stage," says Claudia Fine, chief professional officer of SeniorBridge, a geriatric care management firm with branches throughout the country. "When you're in college, you are in a bubble of social connectivity. Similarly when you are in middle age and go to the office each day and see co-workers, and then go home to your family and spend weekends with friends, you are equipped with a very large network of people." But for some people, particularly the aging population, it is hard to hold onto those contacts as your life stage or location changes.

Fine has seen numerous cases where social isolation has literally been fatal.

SeniorBridge uses methods of reconnecting the aging population with far-flung family members and other friends, largely with the help of the Web.

"We do a lot with Skype," Fine says of the Web-based video phone service, "to connect seniors with adult children who may live across the country."

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