Safety and security are among the top benefits of a retirement community. Residents don’t have to worry about intruders, or what to do in an emergency because the community can handle potential problems.
Take, for example, Barbara Smith. She lives at Covenant Village of Northbrook, a retirement community in the northern suburb. She moved there with her husband about 18 months ago, though he passed away shortly after they moved in.
Smith likes everything about the community. The staff is always helpful, and responds promptly to requests. They take care of fixing things that might go wrong in her apartment, and they also make sure it’s easy to get around. After a recent snow storm, she didn’t have to worry about slipping on icy sidewalks. The staff shovels and salts the walkways.
“You don’t have to fear anything,” says Smith. “I feel safe here.”
Safety, security
Retirement communities take safety and security very seriously. Are the doors locked? Who has access to the building? Though the measures may not always be readily apparent, they are among the top priorities of building managers. The apartments have emergency pull cords, and residents are typically given emergency call pendants to wear so they can call a staffer if they fall or have a problem.
Most communities employ a security staff. Visitors are checked in before they’re allowed in the building. Staffers undergo background checks.
Clarendale of Algonquin opened about a year ago, and provides another example of the safety measures taken by retirement communities. There are two other Clarendale communities in the area, in south suburban Mokena and in Schererville, Indiana. The properties are operated by Life Care Services, and offer independent living, assisted living and memory care.
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“A true safety measure in any senior living property is to limit access to the building,” says John Jorgensen, executive director at Clarendale of Algonquin. The front door is the only entrance with open access and it is manned 24/7 by the staff. The other entrances to the building require a special key fob in order to gain entry.
Visitors must sign in at the front desk. The clerk then calls the resident to ask if the visitor can be sent up to the apartment.
Other safety measures are in place. Residents push an electronic button in their bathroom every morning to “check in.” If they haven’t “checked in” by 10 a.m., they’re called and if they don’t answer, a staffer is sent to their apartment to see if they need help.
Residents are also provided with an emergency pendant that they can wear to call for help.
Pathway to Living operates 25 communities. Its residents have emergency pendants. When a resident pushes the button for help, the staff receives an alert via cell phone indicating where the resident is located.
Workforce safety
Like many other retirement communities, Oak Trace, a continuing care retirement community in Downers Grove, has 24-hour security personnel on duty. They’re responsible for checking in visitors and monitoring the hallways. The guards have checkpoints to make sure the exterior doors are secured. They also patrol the outside grounds.
Safety measures at retirement communities extend to the workforce. Job applicants typically undergo background checks and often fingerprinting and drug testing.
“The hiring process takes some time,” says Jorgenson at Clarendale of Algonquin. Rare cases of theft reported by residents are typically investigated, including a review of who may have entered the apartment.
Emergency!
The issue of safety received wide attention last summer when residents of retirement communities had to be evacuated because of hurricanes in the south and wildfires out west. Midwesterners can be vulnerable, too, especially during tornado season.
Most communities hold regular safety meetings for the staff, who are trained how to handle emergencies. Monthly drills are common.
Residents receive safety education too. They’re instructed how to evacuate the building in case of a fire, or where to go in a weather emergency.
At Oak Trace, residents are encouraged to have a plan in case of an emergency just like they would if they were living alone in a house. That includes what to take with them if they have to leave the apartment.
“Emergencies don’t come up that often, but it’s important to have quarterly drills,” says Blaire Goldstein, executive director at Oak Trace.
In the event of a tornado warning, residents are alerted to go to the building’s basement. It has no windows and residents will be safe from breaking glass. Residents who don’t have time to get to the basement are told to go to an interior room for safety.
Most communities have back-up generators that can provide power for emergency lighting, kitchens and nursing care centers. Communities also have back-up plans in the event of a natural disaster.
Covenant Retirement Communities, which is based in Skokie, has an extensive emergency response plan. When Hurricane Irma hit Florida last summer, a call center was set up in Skokie so the relatives of Covenant’s Florida residents could get a status report on their loved ones. Covenant’s 75 employees in Skokie volunteered in four-hour shifts around the clock to field the calls.
The same system was used when Covenant’s community in Santa Barbara, California, was threatened last fall by wild fires.
“We wanted the families to know what was happening,” says Randy Gross, vice president of support services for Covenant Retirement Communities. Luckily, residents did not have to be evacuated, he adds. “We were fortunate.”