Snow Storms ‘Pretty Much a Non-Event’ for Residents at Mount Vernon Towers

28 Feb Snow Storms ‘Pretty Much a Non-Event’ for Residents at Mount Vernon Towers

According to Chris Peterson, CFO and COO of Mount Vernon Towers, his Assistant Susan Robertson, and Rita Malone, Accountant, the two recent snow and ice storms that made life miserable for a large number of people living in – and traveling through – Atlanta turned out to be ‘pretty much of a non-event’ for the more than 300 seniors living at Mount Vernon Towers.

“And that is exactly our goal!” says Peterson. “We’re proud of how we take care of our residents. To live here is to live worry-free – and that counts for our residents, as well as for their loved ones, who otherwise would have been so concerned about the well-being and safety of their parents and grandparents.”

On January 28, when it became apparent that there was bad weather ahead, most of the staff at Mount Vernon Towers left early to get home before the roads would get treacherous (though some, like Rita Malone, would get stuck for many hours on the icy interstates). Peterson and a small group of 14 dedicated staff members stayed, including Chef Ira, Susan Robertson, a number of the Facilities staff, and a team of four caregivers in the 24-hour Personal Care Center that took care of 28 bedridden patients. There was at least one representative of each department who stayed for the duration of the snow and ice mess.

Before too long, travelers who could not move on I-285 or Roswell Road started to drift into the lobby, and some 20 lucky guests were welcomed with a warm meal (it just happened to be Chef Ira’s famous fried chicken night!) and a comfortable bed (or couch) to spend the night. “Mount Vernon Towers became a safe haven for many, and we quickly made them feel part of our family,” says Peterson.

“We used paper plates for all our meals, and some of our residents helped serve the meals in our dining room. I was the one to call BINGO that week, a first for me, but for the rest everything ran smoothly.”

“We were not really expecting to be working here for three days in a row during the first storm, and we were all pretty tired by Thursday,” says Robertson. “But it was great to see that, like always, everybody just pitched in and did what needed to get done. Fortunately, there were no power outages, and our maintenance director, Michael McAlonan, took great care to personally keep our driveways and access points free of ice at all times.”

“This winter’s crazy weather in Atlanta has been difficult for many people in the greater metropolitan area, especially the elderly. We are very pleased that we were able to make sure that everyone at Mount Vernon Towers made it through our two recent winter storms without any worry about comfort or safety,” notes Peterson.

“I am so proud of our dedicated staff who worked so hard on behalf of all our residents.”