COVID-19 UPDATE | December 30, 2020

Friends and Family of Santa Marta,

We are disheartened to report that we recently identified seven new positive cases of COVID-19 among healthcare residents during our ongoing weekly comprehensive testing. Five are recovering in isolation at our community. The remaining two are receiving care at a local hospital but are expected to be discharged later this week. Our latest round of testing for all healthcare residents was completed on Tuesday and results are still pending.

Given the latest positive resident cases, representatives from the Kansas Department for Aging & Disability Services visited our community this week for an infection control survey. The agency found no deficiencies within our infection control protocols and procedures.

As for staff, no new cases have been identified to date following the usual two rounds of testing for all healthcare team members this week, with some results pending. The overall number of cases among Santa Marta employees is nine, all of whom were previously diagnosed and are recovering at home.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the residents and team members currently impacted by the virus and we wish them all a speedy recovery. Any pending test results will be shared in future updates.

Dining room service, indoor visitations and some activities are commencing smoothly in independent living with safety precautions in place. Out of an abundance of caution, outdoor visitation for residents in our health center remains temporarily suspended. Window visits, video calls and using social media are the safest ways to stay connected with your loved ones.

Despite the challenges this year has presented for our community and society as a whole, we are hopeful as we head into 2021 given the ongoing vaccine rollout nationwide. While health authorities have yet to confirm a timeline for when Santa Marta residents and team members will be vaccinated, we are coordinating with them to ensure timely vaccine distribution once immunization dates are scheduled.

Now that we are approaching the end of the holiday season, we will revert to our regularly scheduled Friday updates on January 8. In the meantime, please feel free contact me and the rest of the Santa Marta leadership team at updates@www.santamartaretirement.com with any questions.

We wish you all a safe and Happy New Year.

Thank you and God bless,

Chet Surmaczewicz

Executive Director