Working in senior living means caring for residents on a daily basis. No matter what role you may have in a community, the end result should always be the safety and overall health of the seniors who live there. Senior living professionals work diligently to serve seniors by preparing medications, cooking nutritious meals, offering a helping hand with daily hygiene tasks, and leading exercise programs. However, taking care of resident safety and wellness also means protecting residents in case of emergency.
At The Arbor Company, we are dedicated to providing emergency response protocols and procedures that keep our residents safe, keep our staff members safe, and keep family members informed. For our communities that are situated in regions where hurricanes are a real and present danger, we have developed procedures that do just that.
The Dangers of Hurricanes
Hurricane season typically runs from May through November throughout the southern and eastern regions of the United States. During this time, tropical storms can quickly develop into hurricanes that can cause wind damage, structural damage, power outages, flooding, and other serious complications.
At Arbor, we empower our team members to do what they need to in order to ensure safety and proper communication with procedures and protocols. We also recognize that many seniors dream of retiring to the warmer climates that the southern regions of America can offer, but may feel deterred when they see hurricane coverage on TV. Our emergency plans give them the peace of mind they need to fulfill their dream of retiring to one of our southern communities.
Safety and Communication
When it comes to hurricane emergency planning, it is important for us to keep safety and communication at the center of policy development. Our community teams follow weather changes, and our home office also provides extensive support for when storms start showing the potential to develop into a hurricane. Our team members are able to make the decision to evacuate residents to a safer location when necessary, while keeping residents in the loop so that they can prepare and pack accordingly.
Because The Arbor Company is a large family with many communities situated around the United States, we often evacuate to other Arbor communities. This provides our residents with continuity of care, and our team members with continuity of the Arbor culture. Recently, as Hurricane Dorian approached The Lakeside at Amelia Island, residents were evacuated to The Arbor at BridgeMill and were met with comfortable accommodations and a warm welcome from the team there.
During weather incidents (as well as any evacuation), theArbor team is dedicated to providing constant communication with residents and family members. We not only post updates to the community website, but also to the community’s Facebook page. Our team posts updates on these platforms for residents and family members, and we strive to make all information up to date.
Beyond communicating via the internet, we also update family members and residents via a phone message on a designated call-in line. This information is updated regularly and provides information to those who may not have internet access or prefer not to search the website.
Finally, if a hurricane is imminent for a community, our team will increase communication efforts to include daily phone calls or messages at least once per day. During the evacuation effort for The Lakeside at Amelia Island and The Preserve at Palm-Aire, family member Sharon was pleased to get information twice per day regarding the plans. “This was a very stressful time for all of us,” wrote Sharon in a recent review. “Knowing I would get a call and that there were backup generators were very critical for my family.”
The Arbor Company genuinely appreciates the team members who keep residents safe, calm, and healthy during stressful storm situations. We are always looking for more team members who want to serve seniors and feel empowered with the tools to do so. Learn more about which positions are available near you by joining our Talent Network.
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