St. Louis Oasis is extending our suspension of programs through Monday, May 11th. This decision is in response to guidance from the CDC, healthcare systems and all levels of government.

Why is Oasis extending our suspension of activity?

Extending the cancellation of Oasis programs is a reflection of the seriousness of the current health risk for older adults. We are making this decision because of the risk of community spread, the virulence of the COVID-19 virus and, in particular, the heightened risk for severe symptoms in older adults or immune system compromised people.

We advise taking social-distancing precautions that include:

1. Avoid close conversations and maintain distance between yourself and others in both one-on-one and small group encounters.
2. Ritualize frequent hand sanitizing and hand washing and be mindful of objects you touch often – your phone, keys, wallet – that could transfer disease even after you have self-sanitized. When possible, re-sanitize hands after touching frequently held objects AND sanitize those objects with disinfecting wipes.
3. Avoid large gatherings when possible, and practice 1 and 2 above during and after all interactions.
4. Health professionals recommend avoiding plane, train, and other shared travel unless absolutely necessary, and have escalated that recommendation to include all non-essential activities.
5. At the first signs of infection, contact a health professional you trust and get evaluated. There is evidence that COVID-19 has an infection “tipping point” and early intervention leads to better outcomes.
6. Finally: Don’t panic. If you are practicing social distancing and are engaging in good self-care, then you are unlikely to get sick. Eat well. Get sleep. Go for a long walk when the weather is nice. Continue to think about good hygiene at all times, wash your hand frequently and clean frequent touch points.

What is Oasis doing to keep us connected and active?

St. Louis Oasis and the Oasis Institute, our national headquarters also located in St. Louis, are both actively working on ways to deliver Oasis Lifelong Learning programs digitally, to access exercise programs across multiple devices for home-based exercise, and to create opportunities for us to connect with all of you by phone and video. Please look for Oasis emails and website updates. We are going to find ways for all us to keep learning together, stay connected and remain active even when we’re physically distant from each other. We will be sharing ways that Oasis will sustain our Successful Aging mission, and we will do so quickly!

If you were scheduled to attend a program that has been suspended, you have three choices:

1. Wait – This is an evolving situation, and we may not have reschedule dates immediately. If you can give us the benefit of your patience, we will share reschedule dates with you as soon as possible. If the new dates work for you – great! If not, we will credit you.
2. Credit now – If you would prefer not to wait for the new dates and want your credit right now, call us and we will take care of it. Staff will be working remotely, so please leave us a message. We will respond as soon as possible.
3. Donate – If you would like to support Oasis during this challenging time, we would appreciate it. Should a reschedule date not work for you, you can choose to turn your credit into a donation to Oasis. Or make an additional gift to Oasis at st-louis.oasisnet.org/donate.

Please call us at 314.862.4859 ext. 24 and we will be happy to answer your questions. Staff will be working remotely, so please leave us a message, and we will respond as soon as possible. We also will have an FAQ that will answer questions related to COVID-19 and Oasis program suspension, rescheduling and more.

This is a rapidly developing situation, so please stay tuned for further information. Thank you for your patience and continued support.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Oasis