Neighbor News
Preparing for storms: Senior living communities take action to keep residents safe
With extreme winter weather in our midst, how do senior living communities prepare for the worst?
It’s winter in the East and that means snow, sleet and time spent indoors. For senior living communities, now is the time to have their eye on the storms and prepare to make sure their staff and residents are safe and sound.
Susan Haynes, LPN, executive director, Arbor Terrace Sudley Manor in Manassas, Va., said they begin in October to ensure they have the supplies needed for the first winter storms. “Inventory is taken of ice melt, shovels and other supplies and the van and bus are taken to the shop for winterization. The community is winterized by completing a three-page checklist.”
At The Solana Horsham near Philadelphia, executive director Marianne Basham has weather alerts sent to her phone and email so her team can be well prepared for what may come their way. The department head team meets daily each morning for a stand-up meeting and once they’ve received an alert, they discuss a plan for storm preparation. “The Front Desk receptionist is responsible for making calls to all team members who are due to be in the community, checking in with them to let them know what the plan is and asking if they need any support to get into the community as scheduled. We will make arrangements for rides if necessary, and staff are able to clock in when they arrive to the community. We need to ensure that the team is there for the residents.”
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To keep the residents at the communities busy, there are daily activities planned, including arts and crafts, exercise, games and movies. “We encourage residents to review the daily paper and join others in the television room to view a news broadcast to keep up to date,” explained Haynes. “If residents do need to go out and roads are passable, the resident care assistants make sure the residents are dressed appropriately for the weather.”
Basham added that a storm can be a nice opportunity for people to get cozy, share some hot chocolate and relive some great memories. “The residents and the team members can connect and learn more about one another.”
