[Updated: October 28, 2021 | Published: October 28, 2021]

It Takes a Village to offer the vibrant, worry-free lifestyle residents enjoy at Friendship Village of Dublin.

As a resident, you can relax and live your best life thanks to the support of hundreds of dedicated professionals.

We’ve started a new blog series to honor our hard-working associates, starting with the department that keeps everything up and running.

The Mission: Enhance Life for Residents

Director Angie Makeever and her team of 31 associates help provide Life in Perfect Balance for our residents. Angie holds an MBA with an intra-disciplinary business concentration from Bellevue University in Nebraska. She started her plant journey in healthcare in 2009 and came to Friendship Village of Dublin in 2020.

“You are always one choice away from changing your life,” Angie said. “The choice to come live at Friendship Village of Dublin will allow you to live your best life, without ever having to ask ‘what if’.”

“We take the worry out of maintenance, security, transportation, and customer service and so much more!”

The department’s overall mission is to enhance the quality of life for residents. Associates handle some of our community’s most vital functions.

Plant Operations & Maintenance

The Maintenance team takes care of everything from life safety to changing light bulbs—including equipment, preventative maintenance, plumbing, electrical, HVAC and appliance repair.

Department leaders include:

• Sallie Cohen, Plant Operations Specialist
• Jeff Miller, Maintenance Supervisor
• Cavan Weston, Senior Maintenance Tech

“Our team keeps residents comfortable—warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” Angie said.

“Thanks to plant and maintenance, our residents do not need to worry about fixing anything or replacing items like appliances when they break,” she added.

“There’s no need for DIY maintenance or a ‘honey do’ list. If residents run into any issues, they reach out to us, and we take care of it!”

Security, Transportation and Front Desk/Reception

Chris Fausnaugh manages all three areas, assisted in reception by Front Desk Lead Michelle Mitchell.

Security

On site 24/7, the Security team protects resident safety and helps keep everything running smoothly.

The Security team delivers packages, acts as first responders to pull-cord calls, assists with evening and weekend maintenance requests, locks and unlocks doors, performs wellness checks, handles emergency management, and much more.

“When residents need someone, Security is there,” Angie said. “When a resident pulls an emergency response cord, a Security team member is first on scene to see if the resident needs an ambulance, nurse, or simply help up from the floor. Security strives to make residents feel safe and at ease.”

Transportation

Using our fleet of licensed and insured vehicles, our Transportation team takes residents to and from appointments, to the grocery store, on FVD field trips and to other activities organized by our Community Life department.

“Thanks to Transportation, residents who no longer drive still get to their appointments, enjoy fun outings, get groceries, and pick up medications,” Angie said. “Having Transportation available allows them to explore the wider community, enhancing feelings of freedom and independence.”

Reception/Front Desk

The Reception/Front Desk team greets everyone who enters our community, including residents, family members, visitors and contractors. Staff answer phones, put in maintenance work orders, help residents schedule activities and assist residents in any way possible.

“The Front Desk team is here whenever a resident has a question,” Angie said. “They’re great at steering residents to the right person to take care of their needs.”

Safety

The Safety team handles fit testing for all new hires in licensed care and assisted living and those in direct care of residents in independent living.

This team ensures all departments are following FVD’s Safety Program for each department.

“Safety makes life easier for everyone,” Angie said. “We do department audits to make sure that there are no safety issues that might cause injury to our employees or residents. We also audit public areas to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.”

It Takes a Village

“Our associates are an extended family, and caring for residents brings us together,” Angie said. “All team members work hard to provide an atmosphere of home, family and fun for our residents, helping them live their best lives at every age.”

“I’m especially proud of the way our team and our community pulled together to keep everyone safe during the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.

During the early days of shutdown in December 2020, Angie and two members of the maintenance team worked only in the old Health Center, while our new Alderwood Health & Rehab was under construction. The Health Center held areas of quarantine to help keep the virus from spreading through our community.

“We built walls, tore down walls, helped move residents and their personal items and did anything else the clinical staff needed,” she recalled.

“I remember that Cavan Weston made sure one resident who could move around the Health Center got his daily newspaper and had the TV set to golf, which was his favorite channel.

“It wasn’t enough for Cavan to see that the resident was safe. He made sure he had what he needed to feel comfortable,” she concluded.

“I’m proud of my entire team, but seeing the bond between the two really touched me. It’s such a great example of The Village Way.”