On March 6, 2020 Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear, declared Kentucky a “state of emergency” due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.  Citizens of Kentucky and throughout the United States were asked to social distance and stay away from large crowds, especially those in high risk categories, which included people over the age of 60 and those with chronic conditions, compromised immune systems (governor.ky.gov/covid19, 2020). Within one week, visits to long-term care facilities were limited, prisons were closed to visitors, schools began preparation for moving online, community gatherings were cancelled and work at home orders were encouraged. FCS Extension administration and team met one last time face-to-face on March 11 to plan and prepare for our own response to the emergency state. By March 16, childcare facilities shutdown and an executive order was made to close all restaurants and bars to in-person traffic. On March 20^th schools were asked to close to face-to-face teaching and non-essential retail stores were closed on March 22. As numbers of positive cases grew and concern over preparation, resources and emergency response increased, FCS Specialists and Associates worked to develop and adapt materials related to needs associated with the pandemic. Working from home, we increased our virtual presence. For example, 6 of my Facebook Live/Zoom webinars, Attitude is Everything (Kostelic, March 2020), Staying Physically Distant and Socially Connected (Kostelic, April 2020); Supporting Your Immune System with Pantry Staples (Kostelic, Norman-Burgdoff & Lueking, April 2020); Kentucky By the Numbers Covid-10 Groups at Serious Risk for Serious Illness (Zimmerman, Kostelic, & McAlister, May 2020); Power of Pets: Promoting Health and Well-Being (Kostelic, Jones & McCulley, May 2020), and Is Covid-19 Keeping you Awake (Kostelic & Jones, May 2020) have had a total reach of 18,092 people. Since March 12, I have developed 21 new information releases and adapted 23. I recorded 2 podcasts in June—Family Olympics (Kostelic & Jones) and #OperationKYSunshine (Kostelic & Elswick). To date, only Family Olympics has numbers to report. The Family Olympics FCS podcast has had 19 clicks and 9 Bit.ly clicks as of 7/2/2020.  FCS Extension averages 16,000 hits per month with the Talking FACS series.   I was interviewed on May 11, 2020 for the WTVQ  morning show. In my interview, I discussed the importance of Older American’s Month during the pandemic. The talk had the potential to reach 35,000 people (the station’s average daily viewership for the morning show). 

Starting in April, FCS Health Specialist, Natalie Jones, and I developed a monthly “Healthy at Home Physical and Well-being “calendar (4 published calendars to date). The monthly calendars have been well-received by agents who use them in a variety of ways, including local newspapers. Katie Pratt and I adapted the Exclusive, “Support each other during traumatic events”. I helped FCS administration with a webinar presentation for Cooperative Extension at Rutgers University so that they could learn what was working/how KY FCS has been successful with virtual delivery and evaluation. Lastly, the Keys to Embracing Aging series, a 12-lesson program about healthy living, was adapted for FCS “Grab and Go” programming. Each lesson was condensed, and 12 weekly calendars were created to reinforce healthy behaviors—one for each lesson.