Silver linings: Area senior care communities step up for resident safety

0
531
Staff members of the Perry Lutheran Homes (PLH) and Madrid Home (MH) who teamed up to plan for resident care included, from left, Dorothee Peters (MH), Jessica Fester (PLH), Araceli Chacon (PLH), Jess Nelson (MH), Kari Hamer (PLH), Dan Scheuermann (PLH) and Yazmin Ortiz (PLH). Photo courtesy Perry Lutheran Homes

With Monday’s derecho storm, much of Perry and other communities in its path were devastated. Out of the aftermath, the Perry Lutheran Homes in Perry, The Bridges in Ankeny, Bishop Drumm in Johnston and Granger Nursing and Rehabilitation rose to the occasion by teaming up to ensure the safety of more than 70 nursing home residents.

The collaboration began when the Madrid Home sustained extensive roof damage, broken windows and loss of power from the storm. The Perry Lutheran Homes Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Melissa Gannon reached out to offer assistance in any way needed.

Once the decision to evacuate the Madrid Home was made, staff began working with the four other care communities to coordinate transportation, housing and care for some 72 Madrid Home residents.

On Tuesday, the Madrid Home and Perry Lutheran Homes staffs worked together to transport and admit 13 of the storm-tossed residents to the Perry Lutheran Homes Willis Avenue Campus.

“It’s definitely a day we will remember with 13 admissions in one day,” Gannon said. “And we are happy to surround these residents with the love of Christ. The Madrid Home sent along staff members to help with the transportation and transition of housing and care. We are all in the business of caring for and loving our residents, so it was really amazing to see staff from both care communities working together. We are glad we could help them out and know that they would do the same for us.”

With the recent remodel and opening of St. Luke’s Private Suites, the Perry Lutheran Homes had just the right number of rooms necessary to admit all 13 memory care residents. Current Perry Lutheran Homes residents were moved into St. Luke’s Private Suites, and all but one Madrid Home resident moved into St. John’s memory care neighborhood at the Perry Lutheran Homes.

“The fact that we had just the right amount of rooms available to take all 13 of their second-floor memory care residents was a ‘God thing,'” said the Perry Lutheran Homes Chief Executive Office the Rev. Max Phillips. “Thank you to our staff, residents and family members for your understanding and accommodation to make this transition possible. It has been incredible to continue to see everyone stepping up during this unprecedented time of pandemic and now storm damage.”

The remainder of the Madrid Home residents were admitted to the other senior care communities in Ankeny, Granger and Johnston. The Perry Lutheran Homes Spring Valley Campus and Willis Campus sustained damages during the storm to the roof, trees and signage as well as power outage, but the damage did not impact resident or worker safety or wellbeing, and the generator was able to provide the power necessary for care during the outage.

None of the 13 residents admitted to the Perry Lutheran Homes had symptoms of COVID-19. The Perry Lutheran Homes continues working closely with and following U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Iowa Department of Public Health recommendations and guidelines set forth regarding COVID-19. Emergency response procedures continue to be activated to keep residents safe, healthy and well.

Mollie Clark is the marketing director of the Perry Lutheran Homes.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.