There is no doubt that Hurricane Irma caused much damage to the state of Florida, and created a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety and concern for its citizens and visitors alike.
We sincerely hope that everyone stayed safe during the storm, and have since been able to get in touch with your loved ones.
Moreover, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our devoted team members who worked tirelessly and selflessly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our residents. The way in which we all came together to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Irma strengthened our team and resident bonds even more so.
Now that the storm has passed, the Westchester Gardens family is looking forward to sunny skies ahead! We are happy to have returned to our daily activities as normal. We would like to extend a thank you to all family members, friends and others for checking our updates on the website and Facebook page during the storm, as well as your patience.
During natural disasters as well as the everyday, we are dedicated to providing residents with support, care and services, ensuring their safety 24/7. If you have a friend or loved one who may be interested in our community or require additional care, we invite you to contact us directly at 727-785-8335.
The safety and well-being of our residents and employees is our highest priority. We have a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan in place, and are equipped with water, food, permanent or temporary generators, and supplies. Appropriate actions are being taken and will continue to be taken in order to keep everyone safe as we watch the storm closely. Our leadership is in close communication with our management company’s executive leadership team. Directions provided by local and state authorities are being monitored and will be followed as instructed.
For the latest weather information in your area choose one of the links below:
Latest updates in response to Hurricane Irma will be posted on this page. If you have any specific questions, please call our community at 727-785-8335.
Wednesday, September 13th @ 9:45am EDT.
Westchester Gardens has been fully operational now for more than 24 hours. This will be our last update. We would like to extend a thank you to all family members, friends and others for visiting this page for updates, as well as your patience. Please contact us directly with any further questions.
Tuesday, September 12th @ 10:35am EDT.
Note from our Executive Director, David Fitts: Telephone and data communications are working. We appreciate your patience, as cell phone coverage is still spotty. Everyone is doing well. Staff have done an incredible job of proactively tending to all residents.
Monday, September 11th @ 5:09pm EDT.
Note from our Executive Director, David Fitts:
Monday, September 11th @ 11:05am EDT.
Monday, September 11th @ 6:04am EDT.
A note from our Executive Director, David Fitts: Winds have significantly died down here. There is no water damage or any known damage to the building we are aware of. Residents are still sleeping for the most part. Power to the building is still down, and our generator is working well. Temperature in building is good. We do have two portable AC units we will begin using later this morning. Breakfast preparations are well underway. Managers have rotated making rounds and sleeping to keep everyone fresh.
Sunday, September 10th @ 8:40pm EDT.
Our generator is currently running and working very well during this power outage.
Sunday, September 10th @ 5:25pm EDT.
Note from our Executive Director, David Fitts: Still moderate weather conditions at this point. Power remains on, but we have heard of outages reported three miles from our building. Our generator is ready in the case of an outage. Dining Services is doing a great job and is currently serving dinner to residents. In addition, we are in frequent contact with our sister communities at The Palms of Largo, adopting their best practices, as well as staying in touch with The Goodman Group management teams.
Sunday, September 10th @ 2:05pm EDT.
Sunday, September 10th @ 11:20am EDT.
Saturday, September 9th @ 10:00pm EDT.
Saturday, September 9th @ 2:05pm EDT.
Friday, September 8th @ 10:25pm EDT.
This evening, Kim Te Brugge, Vice President of Operations for the senior living and health care division for The Goodman Group, participated in a phone call with Florida Governor, Rick Scott. During the call, Gov. Scott provided the following priorities for all senior living communities in Florida.
Gov. Scott will be hosting another call tomorrow night with updates, Kim, will be joining the call. The latest updates from the call with Gov. Scott will be posted on this page.
Friday, September 8th @ 4:25pm EDT.