10am, March 15th (this sunday) is the time that worked for the most number of
people. Sorry for those that can’t make it. Maybe we can send out any updates
after the call.
A reminder, James Brown will be joining the call @ 10:30
I’ve heard dining room is closed, meals will be delivered for no charge, and
events have been cancelled.
Talk to you Sunday,
Hope your loved ones stay healthy.
- Nina
CALL IN NUMBER 1 712 775 7031
PIN: 355198184 #
On 10 Mar, 2020, at 6:55 PM, Nina Garfinkle <nina.garfinkle@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi F&F,
I spoke with James Brown today, below in red is his follow-up email to me
which also includes some updates on the elevators. We agreed that given the
current situation, a call-in meeting this weekend would be the best way to
proceed and is in keeping with the COVID-19 policy CCB has in place. We are
considering 2 times, and will choose which ever one works best for the
majority of people.
Here is a link to a Doodle pole for March 15th—10:30am and 7pm options (TBD)
.
https://doodle.com/poll/fttbmb2kq8c566e3 ;
<https://doodle.com/poll/fttbmb2kq8c566e3>
Please indicate “all possible” you can attend rather than your preference. We
will go with whichever can be attended by the most people. Add any additional
questions you have, not on the agenda already, in the comment section. I will
forward these to James before the meeting to help facilitate the call going
smoothly, and be an efficient use of everyone’s time. [no talking over one
another, etc.]
The first 1/2 hour will be F&F only. James will join at 7:30 to answer any
further question. Call in number to come
Hope this works out for most of you,
- Nina
CALL IN NUMBER 1 712 775 7031
PIN: 355198184 #
AGENDA
FIRST HALF HOUR [F&F only / no staff]
1. F&F discussion
SECOND HALF HOUR [with James from HSL]
1. Elevator situation
- what is the timeline for the elevator fixes
- what can we expect during that time
- are there plans for monitoring the stairwells?
- what is the protocol for evacuation if needed?
- Do we have an alternative plan to get elders out if necessary?
- (i’ve asked the group to send me any other questions they may have
2. Corona virus
3. dining room
- dirty table for second seating are often dirty, as are table cloths when
used.
4. Large screen updates
- 85” TV on wheels was purchased.can move it around, upstairs, downstairs,
into any room. Just fits into the elevator. Working so well they have done
this in their 2 other buildings!
On 10 Mar, 2020, at 4:25 PM, James Brown <jbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:jbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Nina,
It was a pleasure to talk with you. As we discussed I am happy to have a
conference call and can provide the call number. While I understand the
benefits of a face to face meeting, with the current COVID-19 situation, I
feel it would be better if we avoid large groups getting together on the
campus. Once this situation settles down we can schedule a future meeting
onsite. Also a call may give more families the chance to get updates if they
do not live nearby. I liked the idea of trying to gather questions before
the call that I way I can have as many answers as possible.
Here are a few updates:
1. Elevators: Nancy has it just about perfect. We are covering the elevators
from 8:30am to 7:30pm Monday to Friday. I was told the part will ship on
March 13th and will take 3-5 business days. Once it arrives it will take
about two weeks for install, testing and state inspection. The second front
elevator should take 4-5 weeks to complete following the state inspection of
the first one. We intend to keep the elevators staffed the entire time. I
have an update request in to the elevator company and they usually respond to
me on Wednesday with the update.
The back elevator had some needed repairs by our new elevator company, KONE
and is running great. KONE remains responsive and is aware of our situation.
They have been onsite within 2-4 hours and have had any issues resolved same
day.
2. Stairwells: Every day I have been walking the stairs when I need to get
to different floors. This is to check the stairwells and get some exercise.
Additionally other staff are also doing the same thing for similar reasons.
3. Evacuation: We work closely with the Brookline Fire Department should that
ever be required for any reason.
COVID-19—The most update info is in the letter from yesterday. We have daily
calls across HSL with senior leadership and are constantly working with MA
DPH.
Feel free to call anytime and I look forward to connecting with the entire
F&F group both on the phone and in person.
Regards
James
James Brown |Associate Executive Director
Hebrew SeniorLife | Center Communities of Brookline
100 Centre Street | Brookline MA 02446
Direct: 617-363-8103 | Main: 617-363-8100
Email: jbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:jbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
The Boston Globe Top Places to Work 2018
On 7 Mar, 2020, at 4:55 AM, (Redacted sender "nturnbull" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
My mother lives at 100 Centre and I had a conversation about the elevators
this week with James (cannot find last name), who is in charge of
facilities.
Here is what I learned:
First, the building will not likely have three working elevators for 3
more months.
The project in the front is a complete renovation of both elevators, which
are old and break frequently. CCB held off for a year on the project in
order to make major repairs to the back elevator so it would be in better
shape during the renovation. In the course of the renovation, the
contractor discovered both elevators need a new part, which had to be
custom-made. Making and testing the parts are taking longer than expected.
The part should be here next week. The renovation of the second elevator
should go more quickly because the part is made.
During the week, they have staff members running the elevators 8-5pm every
weekday . (He did not call me back right away when I called because he
was doing a 2-hour elevator shift.) Part of it may be to keep the peace
among the residents but it's mostly to make sure that there is a staff
person available and present to deal with any challenges that arise.
We talked about resident safety and they seem appropriately focused on it.
CCB has detailed protocols and policies in place, including empowering
staff to take any action they deem necessary to deal with any situation
that arises without getting permission. My sister had seen ambulance
folks with a gurney waiting quite a while for an elevator in the lobby.
James explained that this was a scheduled transport and not an emergency
call. (In an emergency, fire fighters come too and they all have elevator
override keys that allow them to take control of the elevators.)
James said that CCB has an excellent relationship with the fire
department, which, on average, is at the building most days for some kind
of call. The frequency of calls at CCB allows the department to keep more
staff than it otherwise would need, so the department wants to keep CCB
safe and happy. So his view is that the fire department will do anything
CCB needs, and has been very responsive. They know the building well, and
they are trained to go up and down stairs, and have to do this in many
buildings in Brookline.
A few weeks ago, in the middle of the night, there was an elevator issue.
The staff person called the Fire Department, which sent over a crew of
people to walk the hallways for the two hours it took to deal with the
problem.
This situation is clearly very stressful for residents and staff, and I
felt that management is working hard to get it resolved. Manufacturing,
testing, installing and testing a custom part does take time. The company
working on the renovation is not the same as the company that CCB has used
in the past for the elevators--CCB switched to the company that HSL uses,
and James says they are much better than the former company and he's
confident that once the renovation is done, the elevators will work better
and fewer service calls will be needed.
CCB put out a weekly update on the elevators in the last few weeks (I have
been out of town and so haven't seen it) and another is coming this
weekend, which will repeat the above, probably with more detail.
I suggested that CCB might want to do some outreach to the Friends and
Family group--if there is interest, I am sure they would meet with us.
One issue my sister raised when I updated her about the above is whether
CCB is monitoring the stairwells more frequently, given that there is
likely more activity there. Our mother is evidently taking the stairs
down from dinner some days, which she really should not be doing by
herself. I plan to call James next week and ask about this.
I have no expertise in elevators, buildings or operations. But, by the
end of the call, I felt more informed, assured that they are working hard
to get a difficult situation resolved, and sympathetic about how stressful
this is for everyone involved. I found James to be knowledgeable, caring,
and very concerned about the residents. He wasn't at all defensive, and
he answered everything I asked clearly and thoroughly.
Of course, none of this changes that this is a bad situation and it needs
to get fixed asap.
Nancy Turnbull
___________________________________________________
Nina Garfinkle | Garfinkle Design | www.ninagarfinkle.com
<http://ninagarfinkle.com/>
7 Holyoke Street, Boston MA 02116
T: 617.424.9115 | M: 617.733.4321 | nina@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:nina@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
