Deliberate actions protect senior living communities from fire, safety issues
By
Stan Szpytek
Jun 26, 2023
Fire and life safety compliance does not happen by accident in a senior living community. Ensuring a safe and secure environment of care requires the integration of fire protection and life safety systems...
Proposed federal disaster preparedness recommendations focus on senior living residents, other older...
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
May 22, 2023
Enhancing relationships with senior living providers is one of four recommendations proposed by a federal committee advising the US Department of Health and Human Services on disaster preparedness and...
The threat of lithium battery fires is real!
By
Stan Szpytek
Jan 09, 2023
As power sources for electronic equipment, appliances and devices used in senior living communities and nursing homes become more sophisticated and battery technology advances, the threat of a lithium...
Hands-on training vital to emergency preparedness in senior living communities
By
Stan Szpytek
Nov 28, 2022
For senior living community owners and operators to have realistic expectations that their team will perform well when the “big one” occurs, they must prepare their staff members through a variety...
Florida’s ‘deadliest storm’ challenges some providers; others step in to help
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Sep 30, 2022
Senior living providers in high-risk areas have coordinated resident evacuations and struggled with power outages as Hurricane Ian moved through Florida, whereas those in areas spared by the storm have...
Senior living providers prepare for Hurricane Ian’s fury
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Sep 28, 2022
As Hurricane Ian was being upgraded to a Category 3 major hurricane on Tuesday, long-term care communities and hospitals in areas at highest risk for storm surge were evacuating — or preparing to evacuate.
Now is a good time to emphasize fire safety in your senior living community
By
Stan Szpytek
Sep 12, 2022
Fire Prevention Week represents a good opportunity for a senior living community to step up its focus on fire safety with both staff members and residents by developing creative ways to promote this essential...
Emergency preparedness training key but often missing for frontline staff: expert
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Jul 21, 2022
The pandemic made clear the essential role of frontline staff in crisis and disaster situations. Michael Wasserman, MD, past president of the California Association of Long-Term Care Medicine, said it...
Mutual aid funding could save lives
By
Jeannee Parker Martin
Jun 27, 2022
A mutual aid program can protect older adults, mitigating risk by preparing for disasters and establishing local resiliency and coordinating strategies between long-term care facilities for equipment,...
Preventing commercial laundry room fires in senior living communities
By
Stan Szpytek
Apr 04, 2022
Every commercial laundry room fire in a senior living community during my 26 years with the fire department in a major metropolitan area had one or two common denominators.