By Pat Check and Louise Plonowski
When our client Lenbrook, Atlanta’s premier senior living community, asked us to attend its first COVID-19 Town Hall meeting in mid-March, we did not realize that this would be the last time we were allowed on campus (to date). Already a strict lock-down – among many other safety measures – went into effect in order to prevent and mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
As Latitude 34 PR already had a close working relationship with Lenbrook’s marketing team, we worked together to begin a consistent communications effort that would continue for the coming months. Fortunately, Lenbrook’s executives work with a high level of integrity and were ready to communicate with the community’s residents and staff about its proactive and aggressive approach toward dealing with the global pandemic. We are honored to be part of Lenbrook’s team and help support the senior community during this crisis – through our extensive crisis management experience, superior writing, and other PR services, both traditional and innovative.
Since Lenbrook was founded in 1983, it has always had an emergency plan in place, and throughout its history, the organization has always acted and communicated in a clear and transparent manner. This did not change. Rather, it became a top priority for Lenbrook to provide immediate and complete communications to all stakeholders: residents, their families, associates, the board, vendors, and the general public.
One of the main messages throughout has been that because of its extensive planning and strict adherence to new policies to limit exposure to COVID-19 and mitigate the spread of the virus, Lenbrook is the safest place to be.
Especially at the onset of the crisis in Georgia, Latitude 34 PR’s team of senior-level professionals provided Lenbrook with day-to-day advice, from crisis management issues to media relations, and ways to express gratitude to staff and residents. In addition, our writers worked very closely with Lenbrook’s management team to provide accurate, clear and consistent content for a wide variety of platforms and communication channels. This included social media, Lenbrook’s website and its dedicated coronavirus update alerts page, letters to internal and external audiences, newsletters for residents and future residents, press releases, and more. All along, the community has been completely transparent about all developments, policies and procedures at Lenbrook.
Latitude 34 PR was also instrumental in sharing the welcome news when in April, the National Guard visited Lenbrook to disinfect the community, and again in May, when the National Guard provided testing for Lenbrook’s associates and residents. These actions were again positive illustrations of Lenbrook’s proactive steps to keep Lenbrook safe.
Today, more than six months after our last in-person visit to Lenbrook, we have great admiration of Lenbrook’s response to this crisis, as it continues to offer enriched senior living to its residents.
At this writing, we know that the pandemic is not yet behind us. But we are humbled to work with the Lenbrook team that values our PR expertise and allows us to leverage that knowledge to provide the communications that is and remains so vital every step of the way.