At Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community, Asheville, NC, one of many LeadingAge members damaged by Hurricane Helene, the storm took its greatest toll on staff. Following the storm’s late September touchdown, several days passed before a full accounting of the whereabouts and well-being of employees was possible. Many had suffered personal losses and needed help to begin their families’ recovery from the storm. On top of that, with schools closed, staff with children needed temporary day care services to allow them to return to work.

The organization adapted on the fly with programs to support staff.

To address the needs of employees’ children aged four to 14, thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of seven staff volunteers, Camp Deerfield, Jr., an ad-hoc day care program, was created. The staff volunteer team (later joined by residents) led art projects, singing, outdoor play, intergenerational activities with skilled nursing residents, and much more. One resident told stories and sang in both English and Spanish. Faith Perkins, Deerfield’s chief human resources officer, said the camp typically had about 10 attendees per day, and a total of 20 children were enrolled. Participants also received one daily meal plus snacks.

Meanwhile, the launch of the new Be Well clinic, a Deerfield initiative that provides staff with free access to a nurse practitioner two days per week on campus, could not have come at a better time. Planned and funded by a resident couple, the clinic opened in time to help staff after the hurricane. Its services were supplemented in October by a “Well-being Market,” a day when staff could sign up for flu shots, learn about nutrition, get a biometric screening, check on their readiness for retirement, and learn about mental health resources from the HR and spiritual life teams.

In the first days after the hurricane, Deerfield also helped meet staff’s needs with the Riverwalk Outlet, a short-term program providing free food, clothing, and household items for staff. “Resident volunteers organized, sorted, and replenished items,” says Perkins, “an extraordinarily successful way to support [staff] with dignity and flexibility at the core.”

Deerfield staff also benefited from donations from several sources. The Deerfield Charitable Foundation’s Shirley Burnette Employee Support Fund provided help with a variety of services—“clearing trees, bringing in dumpsters, assisting with temporary housing, and supporting loss on a wide variety of levels,” said Perkins. She also praised the help received from LeadingAge North Carolina and LeadingAge national as “nothing short of outstanding. The financial grants are providing access to recovery resources over and above anything Deerfield is doing, and we have been overjoyed at the opportunity to offer up that incremental support. Residents, staff, and friends of Deerfield have been generous in offering their financial resources.”

“We have experienced, and are still very much in the midst of, a life-changing catastrophic event,” Perkins said, noting that potable water was not restored to the campus until November 18. “Far beyond the storm, however, the sense of community, genuine care, and heart shown for our staff and residents has been remarkable.”

And the positive impact of that care and community lives on. Though Camp Deerfield, Jr. was a relatively short-term program, open from October 7 through October 25 (when schools reopened), Perkins says Deerfield plans to ensure that intergenerational programming and childcare remains a priority for the organization. “We don’t know what that will look like long-term, but [Camp Deerfield, Jr.] gives us a beautiful preview of the richness of having multiple generations connecting with and learning from one another,” she says.

“We ultimately have gratitude in abundance for all that we’ve been able to weather, together.”

For a compilation of member stories of challenges and recovery, read our Hurricane Season 2024 Updates and Disaster Relief serial post. Recovery from storm damage is ongoing; learn more and donate to the LeadingAge Disaster Relief Fund.

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Photo: Camp Deerfield, Jr., a staff-led day care program created for children of Deerfield employees in the wake of Hurricane Helene, offered engaging activities for several weeks in October until local schools were reopened. Photo courtesy of Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community.