- Q. When South Florida heard IRMA was coming, I called my parents, asking them to come to stay with me. But, NO! They decided to stay home…
After much persuasion and horror stories, they agreed to come to our house…- But that ended up being the wrong decision…It was extremely stressful… for everyone.We all know that Hurricanes threaten to come every year… so we all agreed that we need to solve this issue once and for all…After careful consideration, we all agreed that moving to a Senior Living Community was the right solution.
WHY?
#1. Before the storm: Protecting the house. Installing impact glass in all your windows & doors. Getting a generator to carry your electricity, A/C, lights, refrigerator, telephone, etc. Clearing up your yard… Do you really want to deal with all this?
#2. Having a capable care-taker with you. We prepare our staff well in advance: Once a person gets hired in The Palace, upon the very first day of orientation, we show them pictures of Hurricane Andrew, and tell them in great detail how the Palace was saved by its employees and their kids who stayed in the building… and we emphasize our expectation that when a Hurricane warning is announced, all staff must be on site (barring special circumstances that must be excused in advance by the owners!) No two ways about it.
And again, before each Hurricane season, we conduct training sessions to remind our staff what they are expected to do in case there is a hurricane.
#3. Stocking up: Obviously, we stock up on A-L-L the necessities; diesel for the generators, gas for the fleet of buses and cars… So when Hurricane Irma threatened and deliveries stopped, The Palace was stocked with two weeks supply of food and water and, most important, two week supply of medications for every resident.
#4. During the storm. The main thing that I can say is that many residents did not even feel what was happening outside. To your home must have been difficult for you all.
- At The Palace, it’s “all hands on deck” during a storm so that we can keep our residents safe and maintain healthy consistency in their lives.Not just all the staff stay on the property. We also invite their families to come ride out the storm with us. This allows us to continue the usual routine of meals, social activities, card games, parties, fitness classes, etc.We even recruited volunteers among our residents to help occupy our employees’ children, creating a “Hurricane Camp.” It was marvelous to see the old and the young together reading, playing games, and entertaining each other.
And should an emergency occur during the storm, the trained Palace personnel are on site. That’s likely not the case for parents in their own home or if they’re staying with you.
During Hurricane Irma, one of our residents experienced a serious fracture. First responders were not able to assist due to the weather conditions outside. Nursing and other staff members worked together to safely move the resident and drive her to the Emergency Room themselves! It was truly an example of doing whatever it takes to care for our residents.
#5. After the storm. I’m sure you see the obvious advantage in having the community handle all the clean-up.
You want your parents to be able to go about the business of enjoying their life, not worrying about assessing damage, arranging for repairs, and trying to spot scam-artists who prey on hurricane victims.
If you have any questions about the lifestyle changes that go with aging, or if you’d like to be invited to a social event at The Palace, please call 305-271-2220, or email helen@thepalace.org.
Helen Shaham and her husband Jacob have been operating senior living communities since 1980. The Palace at Coral Gables, America’s #1 Independent Living Community, and The Palace Suites in Kendall are both luxury Independent Living Communities for active seniors. In addition, The Palace at Kendall campus is home to two Assisted Living Residences and a Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. They also operate The NEW Palace Gardens Assisted Living & Memory Care Community in Homestead, Homestead Manor Nursing Home & The Palace @ Home, a Medicare Certified Home Health Agency.
- And coming soon is The Palace at Weston, an Independent Living, Assisted Living & Memory Care Community. For more information please visit www.thepalace.org.
