As we come to the end of the day Thursday, I want to bring you up to speed about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on La Vida Llena. This unprecedented situation continues to challenge not only everyone who calls La Vida Llena home, but every staff member, every New Mexican and every American. Let me start by thanking each of you who lives here, works here, or who has a loved one living here. Your understanding and your cooperation have been invaluable as we work around the clock to protect lives and each resident’s quality of life.

In an effort to keep everyone safe, we continue to work with the New Mexico Department of Health and with other federal, state and local agencies to implement their ever changing recommendations and guidelines. As a home to people who are at greater risk for COVID-19, especially those in our healthcare center who are extremely medically fragile, we must do everything in our power to preserve our residents’ health – even if those actions create some degree of inconvenience.

This has been the hardest month of my career at LVL. I was very saddened by the loss of so many residents in our healthcare center. The families and friends continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. I ask you to pray for the caregivers, who, by their nature, form personal relationships and become extremely close to those residents. They continue to show up every day to provide care to those extremely medically fragile residents.

In total, of these 415 residents outside the Healthcare Center, 99 percent have tested negative to date. We thank God for every one of these negative results.

• Of the 371 residents in Independent Living, only six have tested positive. Those who have tested positive are away from the community or in isolation.
• Of the 30 residents in Assisted Living, all 30 have tested negative.
• Of the 14 residents in Memory Care, all 14 have tested negative.

Currently, 10 residents in the Healthcare Center have tested positive for COVID-19 and are being cared for in an isolated section of the Healthcare Center. Experienced caregivers – together with support, guidance and staffing assistance from the Department of Health – are taking comprehensive measures to treat these residents.

An additional 16 residents of the Healthcare Center have tested negative for COVID-19. All La Vida Llena residents have been urged to self-isolate in keeping with directives from the state and the Centers for Disease Control. All residents are required to wear their mask when outside their apartment. All residents are receiving services, like meal and mail delivery, meant to make their living conditions safer and less stressful. Our Life Enrichment team continues to ramp up services like virtual entertainment, online shopping, and education offerings to keep quality of life high while practicing social distancing.

Finally, 34 of La Vida Llena’s 303 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Each of these employees is currently at home recovering under quarantine. Each team member and their loved ones continue to be in our prayers at all times. We look forward to their full recovery and their eventual return to work, according to current DOH standards. I am very pleased that some staff members have recovered and returned to work.

I hope this answers your questions for the present moment. While none of this is ideal, we believe this set of procedures offers you the most freedom and the best quality of life with the least possible inconvenience and the greatest positive impact on the community’s health.

Be kind, stay safe, be well.

Thank you.

DeAnn Eaton