Security Comes Standard at Holiday

Personal Emergency Response Device

For starters, all Holiday residents are given access to a Great Call device, which offers them the ability to call an operator at the touch of the button should a safety issue arise. “In addition, the device allows them to hold the button for five seconds and call 911,” says Frank Slubowski, Vice President of Capital Planning & Facilities for Holiday Retirement. All Holiday facilities are fully equipped with fire alarms and sprinklers.

Designed With You In Mind

According to Slubowski, all apartments, dining rooms and areas of all Holiday Retirement communities were designed with seniors in mind. They feature easy-to-maneuver floor plans with wide always and handrails, as well as thoughtfully placed furniture to minimize trip hazards. “We regularly do site visits to check for tripping hazards,” Slubowski said. All employees receive regular safety through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), so that they are up to date with federal regulations for safety and OSHA safety training, and all associates receive additional quarterly safety training above and beyond OSHA in areas like safety in the kitchen.

Prepared For Natural Disasters

According to a Garcia, a differentiator for Holiday is its preparedness in case of weather, natural disasters, logistics strikes or other emergencies. “Because of our size and footprint, we are able to mobilize quickly in the event of severe weather such as hurricanes.” With nearly 50 years of experience mitigating the effects of natural disasters, Holiday teams know how to implement a safe natural disaster protocol before, during, and after natural disasters or crises.

Access to Resources

“We have resources all over the place,” notes Todd Howell, Holiday’s Director of Procurement, alluding to Holiday’s national footprint and access to major vendors. Holiday was able to quickly mobilize during a recent teamsters trucking strike in Denver, CO. In November 2019, the company was able to mobilize food shipments to 11 communities, ensuring residents enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner that week. When wildfires forced evacuations in Simi Hills, CA in 2019, Holiday’s emergency response team had already been meeting twice a day for days in advance.

Dedicated and Caring Staff

Another Holiday differentiator: our staff. When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August 2017, “Our employees stayed for days and never left our residents, not knowing if their own house was flooded or lost,” Howell noted. “When we call in the heat of battle and say we need 150 blankets, people want to help. Whether it’s a utility outage, boiled water emergency, fire, hurricane or gas leak, we have protocols in place,” Howell said.

All Are Welcome 

In October 2019, when Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) had a planned power shortage lasting nearly five days, “We had emergency vendors on call and ready to deliver for us,” Howell said.  Additionally, all Holiday facilities have emergency generators onsite. In fact, it’s not uncommon for family members to turn to Holiday themselves for assistance. “We have family members feeling safer and more comfortable staying with us. We open our doors,” according to Mark Schmidl, Holiday’s Senior Facilities Director. “And that’s not an irregular occurrence.”

Holiday is Pet Friendly

Another differentiator for Holiday? The company’s pet-friendly attitude extends to natural disasters. “People often don’t want to leave their homes because they don’t want to leave their pets, and at Holiday, they don’t have to,” notes Lorna Hall, Fire, Life and Safety Manager at Holiday’s support center. “We’ve had buses with 53 people two dogs and a parrot during evacuations,” recalls Howell.

Trusted Relationships With Our Partners

Access to vendors like Sysco, with nationwide network and monitoring systems, means national events will be constantly monitored, and that that information directly feeds Holiday’s routing team. “Disaster preparedness is our difference and our strength, particularly during natural events like hurricanes and wildfires,” Howell notes. “The collective experience we have in this industry is hundreds and hundreds of years. We have a deep understanding of this.” Around 30 years ago, California’s central valley was experiencing a deep drought. Because of its network and preparedness, Holiday facilities “were the only communities in town with water,” recalls Schmidl. Want peace of mind for yourself? Holiday has you covered.