Many community managers and board members in 55+ communities believe that emergency response is only reserved for 55+ communities in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast states during the hurricane season. But as we all know, damages due to extreme weather, electrical fires, and pandemics can happen anywhere. The sad reality is that emergencies and disruption are always around the corner, yet many 55+ communities are still not fully prepared when disaster strikes.
Emergency Plan
Make sure you have an emergency plan as this is the most pivotal part of surviving an emergency. Create an emergency plan that is easy to follow and is easy to access. Using our Resident Experience Management platform, you can store your emergency plan online using our File Sharing feature. By storing it online, not only will it be accessible 24/7 to all staff and residents, but it also eliminates the risk of having plans physically on paper where they can easily be misplaced or damaged in the risk of a severe event.
Clear and concise communication is key
As seniors are more frail and less mobile, communication must be fast and accurate. We recommend reaching out to residents using multiple channels to ensure that they get the message.
Our Resident Experience Management platform employs an agile set of features designed to support multichannel communication:
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Notifications
Our handy Notifications tool is not only for package deliveries. It’s perfect for urgent and timely notifications via SMS Text, email or an automated phone call. This feature is ideal for notifying individual residents.
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Announcements
You can also distribute announcements easily and effectively by email, SMS or automated phone call with our Announcements feature.
We also recommend installing display screens in elevators and the lobby. Display screens are great for broadcasting urgent messages to residents in the event of a power outage or a flood.
Prioritizing post-disaster service requests
Once a disaster such as a flood is over, there is going to be repairs on damages caused by the flood. Our Service Request tool is ideal for tracking such issues, for interacting with residents who have escalated these to management, as well as for assigning these tasks to staff who will be responsible for fixing them.
With our Incident Reporting feature, residents can record incidents digitally, attach photos and documents, allowing staff to have a permanent record in a secure database that cannot be altered or deleted. Security staff sign off on a report with a digital signature and property managers receive instant email delivery of all new reports.
Creating an emergency plan and making it available for staff and residents is crucial for ensuring that everyone is well prepared during emergency situations. Furthermore, clear, and concise communication can help your staff and senior residents feel more confident and calmer, which is important in such events.
Book a meeting with us today and see for yourself how our Resident Experience Management platform can help your team handle emergency situations in 55+ communities.
We recently had a webinar titled What is Your Preparedness Level? How to Handle Emergencies and talked about:
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How to alert residents with our Urgent Announcements, sending email, text (SMS), or automated phone call.
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How to prioritize post-disaster service requests from residents with our Service Request feature.
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Ensuring that important documents are secured digitally with our Media Library feature.
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