Dear Friends,

I hope you and your family are well. I am writing to update you about the impact of Hurricane Delta and to share the status of evacuees, as well as update you regarding new COVID-19 cases.

It has been over seven weeks since Hurricane Laura pummeled our Southwest Louisiana Divisions. Across the state, more than thirty of our community homes were damaged, and some of our residents lost everything they owned. We still have eight community homes that are not yet habitable.

We have staff members who left their families to evacuate with their Evergreen families on the eve of Hurricane Laura. Some of these staff members’ homes were severely damaged and some were destroyed. Rather than returning home to pick up the pieces as soon as the storm passed, many have chosen to stay with the people we serve. While they wait for their homes to be repaired, evacuated residents and their staff members are staying at a large life center in North Louisiana.

Last week, Hurricane Delta hit in an almost identical location as Hurricane Laura. Again, we were forced to evacuate individuals and their staff members, most of whom had just been able to return home after Laura. Fortunately, this time around, our homes fared better, enduring minor roof damage and power outages.

We depend on you to help us repair and restore homes as quickly as possible to keep the people we serve safe and comfortable. If you are in a position to do so, please donate to our hurricane relief fund.

We stopped sending regular COVID-19 communications because we experienced several weeks of decline in transmissions. We are starting to see an uptick in new cases again. Specifically, our Kentucky Divisions have had to close their offices and day programs after a big spike in cases. Our Northeast Texas division, Arkansas divisions and two divisions in Tennessee are also experiencing an increase in cases. Fortunately, our Louisiana divisions, which you’ll remember had a large number of COVID-19 cases earlier this year, have not experienced any new cases for weeks. Our COVID-19 related expenses have climbed to approximately $2.5 million dollars.

On a positive note, Evergreen is thrilled to report that our Georgia program has received CARF Accreditation (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) for three years. In order to receive this accreditation, providers demonstrate their belief that all people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, have access to needed services that achieve optimum outcomes, and are empowered to exercise informed choice.

This means that the people we serve in Georgia and their family members have the peace of mind of knowing that Evergreen demonstrated its commitment to delivering quality services that focus on their loved one’s specific strengths, abilities, needs and preferences.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Warmly,

Sue Buchholtz
President/CEO