Assisted living communities can give residents the power to maintain a high quality of life, but to do that, they need to power themselves.
A power notification system developer, Gridmetrics, recently announced a new tool, PENS Assets, specifically tailored to senior living communities that can provide real-time power intelligence data.
The ability to identify local power outages and maintain backup options is crucial at senior living sites, where patient monitoring systems need to be maintained 24/7.
The goal of PENS Assets is to help notify communities of local outages so they can preempt any issues themselves, Gridmetrics said in a statement.
The PENS Assets platform provides automated alerts and includes a map to monitor companies who have multiple locations, the website states.
Although some states, such as Virginia, already have laws mandating backup power for assisted living providers, need to bolster disaster planning within senior living communities was the focus of a Senate report from earlier this year.
In that report, “Left in the Dark,” the authors recommended that government agencies should require assisted living providers to improve their disaster preparedness, including having backup power options. The report cited issues in Texas during 2021 winter storms and blackouts as highlighting problems within the industry, as many assisted living residents had to be evacuated to other locations.
During the pandemic, 20 residents had to be evacuated from an assisted living community in Junction City, OR, amid a prolonged power outage event. The outage was part of a slew of safety issues and the provider ended up with new staff and new leadership following the incident, McKnight’s Senior Living reported.
