riding out hurricane ian

Can you even imagine what our south Florida caregivers and residents must have experienced during Hurricane Ian? At the first warning of a category 2 in my north Florida hometown, panic ensues, the gas lines form and grocery store shelves go bare within hours. It’s chaotic and messy!

Senior living professionals, however, have a vastly different approach to mother nature’s threat, one that is synonymous with excellence in emergency management. Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) yearly planning impacts every aspect of your community such as: ALF business operations, residents, and staffing; emergency management resources, logistics and response; and coordinating with outsourced companies that provide shelter, transportation, fuel, repairs, communications, medical supplies, food, water, generator services, etc. Coordination is critical, time is precious and the lives of our seniors and staff are irreplaceable.

by sheri leajean

But, this is nothing new to senior living. Well ahead of Ian’s unwelcome arrival in Sarasota and Ft. Myers, decisions had been made, preparations secured, and the emergency master plan was activated on high alert. It was all hands on deck for Five Star communities in this area of the state. ENGAGE magazine team CEO Gail Matillo, Creative Director Katie Reeves and myself visited these communities. We were awed by the staff’s dedication, seamless orchestration and exemplary planning demonstrated throughout each community.

Five Star Senior Living Regional Director Mark Cox led the boots on the ground while East coast leadership Vice President of Operations Melinda Skirvin was just a phone call away for problem-solving and support. Each worked tirelessly. It was all systems go and they were on a mission to keep staff and seniors safe.

• Generators on. • Food orders doubled. • Medications ordered. • Families contacted. • Vendors and coach transportation on standby. • Evacuations in process. • Cots assembled and rooms ready for guests. • Let the hurricane party begin!

Kicking butt and taking names

As Ian’s path became more obvious, communications with staff and residents became more frequent. Lexington Manor ED Noelle LaPonte said residents never knew there was a storm nearby. She smiled, “we have a residents first policy…it all started with a Happy Hour on the 2nd floor.” “It’s our job,” she stated. “In this business, you get to know each of the residents, and they are our number one priority.” LaPonte credits the CEMP success to strong leadership and an amazing staff with a family affair attitude. Plus, advance preparation, coordination, constant communication, and adjusting as needed were some of the most important contributing factors. Everyone played a key role including super-star team member Donna who was instrumental in keeping waste issues at a minimum. She was the plunger queen! LaPonte, who worked to remove water intrusion, chuckled stating, “next time, we need more shop vacs“. To top things off, Lexington Manor welcomed nine, yes 9, new move-ins during the storm. Talk about taking care of business!

It’s all about the right team.

Just a few miles away, Executive Director Georgie Romeo and her Tuscany Villa of Naples team were busy doubling their capacity moving in 60 assisted living residents from Calusa Harbour plus staff. Family members of some Tuscany Villa residents even sought shelter and were welcomed without hesitation…a family affair in every sense. At the time, no one knew what started as a 3-day supersized hurricane party would become weeks of coordination.

Romeo said “confidence is key”… Five Star’s support system and resources plus well-established vendor relationships enabled staff to focus on caring for residents. “There was no interruption to Tuscany Villa residents,” she said. Residents were kept informed; they communicated with families and held forums for questions. Regardless of the challenges, Romeo reinforced, “it’s all about having the right team in place.” For example, the nurse call system for Calusa didn’t match Tuscany Villa so they had to pivot. In a pinch, they issued whistles to all the newcomers until new pagers and pendants arrived. Once in place, devices were programmed on different frequencies so staff would be alerted to their specific residents needing assistance. “Accepting assisted living residents puts lots of pressure on maintenance, housekeeping, and dining, “ Romeo said, but having the Calusa Harbour team onsite made a huge impact. Matter of fact, they all stayed onsite for a week after the storm. Afterward, Five Star began shuttling Calusa Harbour employees daily to and from their temporary home away from home.

Gerdie Civil, Calusa Harbour LPN agreed, “at times it’s frustrating. Residents only packed for 3 days. There was a feeling of being stuck when they had expected to go back home sooner.” Staff worked with each of the residents to pack additional clothes and other belongings so they would feel more comfortable.

Civil said it was long days for staff, too, with the added commute time but she was happy to be able to work. She said “keeping morale and spirits positive” was important and she focused on always having a smile even though she experienced lots of hurricane damage and flooding in her own home.

Another account from Tuscany Villa of Naples Christine Heaton, Lifestyle 360 Program Director (I just love this title!) said “Five Star is the glue that kept me together during this time…coming to work every day is a blessing!” Heaton’s home suffered major damage during the storm. Three feet of water sustained for days will do that. Her home is stripped down to the studs now and still waiting on insurance to determine the next step. Early next year, perhaps? Her patience is running scarce and she and her husband have exhausted all their financial resources but are hopeful to regain some normalcy soon. In the meantime, Heaton is passionate about her work, “happy residents are rewarding” but after 31 years she doesn’t call them residents, rather, it’s friends. “We are one blended blessed family,” she says.

In the comforts of The Palms Fort Myers, Bill Brewster, Administrator,

PHOTO CREDIT: OFFICE OF LEADER GRANT

we met with the A-Team from Calusa Harbour, Kim Kelly, Morgan Leopard, Lorren Becker, Olga Konstandinidis, Hank Fyock and Chef Steve Wells. The team shared stories and pictures from their Hurricane Ian experience. They jokingly agreed they hoped to never go through this again.

In previous years, Calusa Harbour faired well during many storms with minimal damage and no flooding, but this storm was different. They are still weeks away from being ready for resident returns. Sixty assisted living residents were relocated temporarily to Tuscany Villa of Naples, but many Independent Living residents decided to stay put and ride out the storm even though county authorities issued a mandatory evacuation. As a result, special arrangements were made for 114 residents plus a caring and courageous A Team staff (and some family members and pets, too!) to remain in place hunkered down to ride out Hurricane Ian. I’m sure they never expected what happened next. Water was rising, the wind howling and debris was flying. An AC unit relocated itself to a second-floor roof extension. A yacht parked itself in the D’Amicos’ first-floor apartment (but please don’t tell 95-year-old Irene… she’d be so upset).

Morgan Leopard, Business Office Manager for Calusa Harbour, relived her account of investigating damage on the 20th floor. There had been a report of a possible broken window so she went to assess fully expecting just to see broken windows… “Nope, I opened the door and saw the roof flapping in the wind! I immediately moved residents and staff to the 9th-floor atrium” where they would await Ian’s exit. Trees down, awnings crumpled like a wad of notebook paper, an unmanned boat cruising down First Street,“we never lost internet though LOL!,” Leopard laughed. But then hearing massive alarms sounding off and a look out the window to see all the employees’ cars in the parking lot underwater, floating away and subsequently totaled…it was completely devastating.

“Our staff had a lot of good assistance with FEMA. They replaced food costs up to $700 for each household. Five Star also held donation drives

for supplies and sent $10K down to assist with replacing items lost. Mark Cox loaded an external tank in the back of his truck and drove back and forth from Naples to bring gas to employees every day so we didn’t have to pay for gas to get to work. Plus, furniture was purchased to help families who were flooded out. Cars mostly were replaced with insurance … Most had coverage to replace their totaled vehicles, but some didn’t. :/ That was hard.”

Five Star was prepared.

This storm was so long and hard on residents. The roof went first, then the plumbing. “You could feel the building swaying,” they all nodded in agreement. Some Calusa residents didn’t want to leave their apartments but staff found ways to entertain and make them as comfortable as possible while staying safe.

A strong support system.

Dedicated staff.

Residents First Policy.

Having a plan in place.

These and so many additional factors were significant in the success of keeping residents and staff safe and cared for during Ian but to hear the team talk about it, you’d believe it was just another day at work…a seamless operation focused on providing the best care for their residents.

Mark Cox said, “Resident safety was a priority. It’s why we do what we do.” He noted policies are continually evaluated…they are always evolving and looking for ways to improve. Plus, he said they “begin preparing for hurricane season in March”, months in advance of any possible threats. “Never at any point did we not feel prepared.”

Hank Fyock, Five Star Regional Engineer, was on top of things early on reviewing depression potential, looking at hurricane apps, communicating with staff, and tracking the storm well in advance of Ian being named a storm. As Ian’s path narrowed, Fyock’s alerts became more and more frequent to keep communities on alert and ready. Next on his agenda, Cox said, is to “upgrade everyone to the iPhone 14. The new satellite capabilities would have been a huge bonus and made communication so much easier.” At times, there was no service. Cell towers were down; some had internet and others did not. Staff got creative though and pivoted when needed. Those who had the internet could communicate through Facebook messaging while others downloaded a 2-way radio app and exchanged important updates that way. Corporate was able to keep families updated through mass email and text communications, too.

Cox also commented how critical it was that Five Star contracted buses on standby so they would be ready to go at a moment’s notice. “It was worth the extra money to know they had transportation ready when it was needed.”

And the generators are a game changer!

“Without generators, we would have had to evacuate,” stated Cox. Generators were fired up even before the storm hit so that when, and if, the power went out, residents would not experience a disruption in their homes. “Some residents never even knew there was a storm,” he said. Further, generators were a critical resource at Calusa. At the height of

the storm when the community was without power, elevators were still operating on generator power to move residents and staff safely and quickly to secured areas of their twenty-story building. (I don’t even want to imagine the difficulty and challenges staff would have experienced had generator power not been available. It’s very likely that generators saved lives in this instance.)

More notes from Five Star Hurricane Ian veterans… Have a contractors list handy.

Need more shop vacs.

Secure coach transportation with lifts.

Utilize resident volunteers. Shine a light on the ability of your residents. Staging. The cots didn’t work well for all assisted living residents so beds were purchased to replace them as quickly as possible. “Serve more coffee and pie,” said resident Irene.

“Replace staff phones with I-phone 14’s for the satellite capabilities.”

Return on Investment

The Five Star team is a model of excellence in emergency management for senior living. Their success boils down to a company that cares for and supports its own AND having the best team in place working together to ensure its emergency management plans are top-notch, so their communities, residents, and staff are always safe. Creating a company culture that breeds dedication and commitment like this is inspiring and it’s evident that employees appreciate and thrive in the Five Star environment where everyone can be a leader. “When you have leaders like Melinda Skirvin, this is what happens.” Mary Sue Patchett, former Chair and Co-Founder of Florida Senior Living Association asserts Skirvin’s leadership is the driving force behind the Five Star team’s success.

Fyock reported that repairs are underway at Calusa Harbour with a targeted December reopening date. At the time of this article, an inspection is scheduled for December 19th, and everyone is hopeful residents and staff may return home by Christmas.

sheri leajean

Executive Editor, Director of Education and Sponsorships Florida Senior Living Association

Florida Legislature Names Senate and House Hurricane Recovery Committees

In preparation for the 2023 legislative session, incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo announced the creation of a new Senate Select Committee on Resiliency. The Resiliency Committee will be chaired by Sen. Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican who is also the Senate majority leader. The new committee will address hurricane and recovery efforts and overall resiliency planning. On the House side, newly swornin House Speaker Paul Renner also established a new Select Committee on Hurricane Resiliency and Recovery to fortify the state against future hurricanes in the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole and Ian. Representative Michael Grant, (R-75), and the Majority Leader will be chairing this new committee.

Hurricane Ian, a category 4 storm, devastated parts of the state and will take years to recover. Rep. Renner said the state will remain laserfocused on the recovery efforts and on identifying steps to be better prepared for future storms. Douglas Soule, a USA TODAY reporter said that three major factors played a large part in the severity of the disaster: • An underestimation of deadly storm surge in Lee County, both in early forecasts and by residents likely unaware of the extreme damage that can be wrought by water. • A challenging forecast that at one point painted the bull’seye on Tampa and Clearwater, a worst-case scenario for the area of more than 3 million people.

The National Hurricane Center warned multiple times that there was low confidence in the track of the storm, although the rapid intensification was accurately predicted from the beginning. • And those in the path of the storm, whose past experiences, or a lack of experience with hurricanes, may have influenced their actions to stay in place.

Summary

More than $2.69 billion in federal grants, disaster loans and flood insurance payments have been provided to the state of Florida and households to help survivors jumpstart their recovery after Hurricane Ian, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. About $752 million has been distributed to households and $327 million to the state of Florida for emergency response and recovery, while the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $962 million in disaster loans. The National Flood Insurance Program has already paid $652 million in claims, FEMA reports. And, during the Special Session held the week of December 12, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill (SB) 4-A, Disaster Relief, which provides $750 million for additional disaster relief to Floridians following Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. This legislation provides tax relief for owners of destroyed homes, housing assistance for displaced Floridians, and funding for reconstructing impacted beaches and essential water infrastructure.