COVID-19 UPDATE | JANUARY 22, 2021

Friends and Family of Santa Marta,

We have a couple of major causes for celebration this week. The first round of COVID-19 vaccinations at our community, which were administered by CVS on Monday, went smoothly as expected. The recipients – residents in assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing, as well as Santa Marta associates – are scheduled to receive their second doses on Monday, February 8.

It’s a pleasure to also report that we have partnered with AuBurn Pharmacy to administer COVID-19 immunizations for independent living residents on Wednesday, January 27. Second doses will be provided three weeks thereafter. This AuBurn Pharmacy partnership is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to ensuring everyone at our community is protected against the virus. In fact, our independent living residents will get vaccinated ahead of the state having a concrete program in place for independent living immunizations.

Despite this promising news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other health authorities have not made any changes to safety guidelines for senior living communities. Therefore, safety protocols remain in place at Santa Marta for the foreseeable future. This includes masks, social distancing, and no large gatherings. Indoor visitations with safety precautions continue in independent living while outdoor visitation for residents in our health center remains temporarily suspended. We strongly encourage you to opt for window visits, video calls and using social media to safely stay connected with your loved ones.

We thankfully identified no new positive cases of COVID-19 during our ongoing weekly testing for all healthcare residents this week. However, there are currently five active cases of the virus among residents despite some recent recoveries. Regrettably, five residents have also passed away from complications related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the year. We are deeply saddened by the losses and we extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones.

Healthcare team members were also tested twice this week as usual. We uncovered two new active cases, bringing the total number of positive employee diagnoses to 16. Fortunately, we’re optimistic nine of the affected team members will fully recover over the weekend.

All affected residents and team members are in our prayers and we wish them a speedy recovery.

Please feel free to contact our leadership team at updates@www.santamartaretirement.com with any questions. Our weekly updates will also be shared on our website and Facebook page.

Thank you and God bless,

Chet Surmaczewicz

Executive Director