Member Spotlight: Home Safety Services, Inc.

Published in Home Modifications on March 17, 2020

VGM Live at Home strives to build a community of “Best in Class” companies to better serve the end-user and create meaningful experiences for their customers. This month, we chatted with Martin Simenc, PE, CAPS, with Home Safety Services about their many rewarding experiences with their customers. One case in particular included building a ramp system in one week for a customer who was recently in a devastating bicycle accident.

A physician and avid cyclist was struck by a vehicle while out on a ride, and his severe injuries resulted in him becoming quadriplegic. Following his extended hospitalization, he was anxious to return to his hillside home. Unfortunately, the stairway entrance to the front door was too narrow to accommodate an inclined platform lift, and any elevator or vertical platform lift solution would have required extensive modifications to the home and months to complete. The wife had consulted with multiple vendors without arriving at a feasible solution prior to learning of Home Safety Services, Inc.

Upon the arrival of Home Safety Services, they were humbled by the challenge before them, but the wife's exasperation and her husband's fervent desire to return home as soon as possible motivated them to get creative. Home Safety Services was able to develop a wheelchair ramp configuration that scaled the adjacent hillside to access a back patio and side bedroom door. The installation required substantial anchoring and cross-bracing to ensure the system remained securely in place.

A further challenge came when the wife informed them that the ramp would have to accommodate delivery of his specialized hospital bed on the same day of his discharge and that the bed would not fit between the ramp’s railings. Home Safety Services then coordinated the installation to complete the ramp installation initially without railings. On the day of discharge, the bed was delivered first thing in the morning, and the team installed the railings prior to the patient arriving home. Everything worked according to the well-coordinated plan, and the patient and his wife were delighted to finally be back home.

In the end, Home Safety Services was able to complete the project from assessment to discharge in less than two weeks and at half the cost of the lowest-priced alternative solution. After a year, the family decided to relocate to a single-story home in a senior community. Again, Home Safety Services coordinated the moving process to facilitate the removal of the patient, followed by the bed (without the ramp railings). Next, they purchased the used equipment back from the customer, added it to their rental stock, and restored the landscape to its pre-ramp appearance, allowing the customer to promptly show and sell the property.

The customer wrote the following review about the service they received from Home Safety Services:

“They were wonderful people willing to tackle a very challenging job (ramps on a hillside to get my husband from the driveway up to the 2nd story of our home). They came up with a solution after considering multiple plans to try to get the job done in just a week and a half. Others may have said it couldn't be done, but they never gave up on the project and delivered in a squeezed period of time. I'd definitely use their services again—they were kind, considerate, and determined to help us in this difficult time.”

VGM Live at Home is proud to have members like Home Safety Services that not only pride themselves in providing cost-effective, creative, and attractive solutions to support the aging in place industry but who truly make a difference in the lives of the individuals they serve. To learn more about Home Safety Services, visit https://www.homesafety.net/.