Summertime often represents a season of family vacations — perhaps trips to the shore or a lake or a cruise, relaxing picnics in the yard, concerts, hikes, and other types of recreation. It’s also hot. And humid. Air conditioners break, the grass continues to grow and need mowing; the weeds keep sprouting up. Storms come, sump pumps malfunction, and basements flood. Septic systems fail. Your HOA sends out letters after inspections and your house needs to be power washed or you need to replace a tree. The list never stops.
Homeownership continues to be part of the American Dream, but it is a LOT of work. Enjoying time with family, learning a new hobby, travel, reading good books, or just living without worrying about house maintenance and upkeep is not just a dream, but a reality at Pine Run Retirement Community.
Residents at Pine Run enjoy the comfort and security of senior living knowing that they have a team of talented individuals taking care of all of the “stuff.”
“The Pine Run Plant Operations team encompasses a range of disciplines and services to ensure the functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of Pine Run’s two campuses and 450 residents,” said Harry Snyder, Senior Director of Plant Operations at Pine Run. “Our team consists of specialists who handle everything from routine plumbing and electrical work to painting, picture hanging, light bulb replacement, and many other fixes that enhance the lives of our residents.”
The Plant Ops team members are committed to serving the needs of Pine Run Independent Living, The Health Center, The Garden at Pine Run and Lakeview. Headed by Marc Stine, the Grounds team is responsible for the daily care and maintenance of a combined 48 acres of beautifully landscaped property highlighted by hundreds of varieties of trees, plants and flowers. In addition to the upkeep of all common area grounds, the Grounds Team designs, plants and assists Villagers with more than 200 personal gardens. When not managing weeds, maintaining the pond or clearing gutters, this team is also responsible for making sure all the underground storm water pipes and drains are clear and free of obstructions.
On the Maintenance side of Plant Ops, a small but experienced team of maintenance generalists take care of just over a half million square feet of buildings, 516,139 square feet to be exact.
In addition to the Pine Run in-house staff, Plant Ops secures and manages the services of outside vendors for project management, landscaping and hardscaping, construction projects, HVAC repair/replacement, plumbing, electrical systems, roofing and gutters, paving and concrete maintenance, water quality management and storm water management, as well as other services such as painting, flooring, installing cabinetry, pest control, and vent cleaning.
On average, the Plant Ops team completes 270 work orders per week or, 1,170 a month or an average of 14,040 each year. The sheer magnitude of tasks that are performed on a daily basis require the Plant Ops department to be flexible, thoughtful, creative, calm and confident.
The team handles all preventative, routine, and emergent issues that arise and keeps Pine Run compliant in our many Department of Health regulatory requirements, water quality management, HVAC systems upkeep and Life-Safety systems functioning.
The Plant Ops team takes pride in knowing that what they do on a daily basis touches every department and every resident.
“The freedom of calling in a work order for something that is not working – from a replacement light bulb to larger issues feels terrific,” said Jim Eidson, Pine Run Villager. “Last year, our air conditioner broke down and the Pine Run team worked their magic while we were away on vacation. Living at Pine Run does not eliminate the fact that things break, but we have one phone number to call to report any issues and they are handled quickly and efficiently without the need to track down the proper trade, schedule, and wait for service. Plant Ops takes good care of us!” continued Eidson.
Learn more about Independent Senior Living at Pine Run
Pine Run is part of the Doylestown Health network, which includes Doylestown Hospital and has served the Bucks County community for nearly 100 years.