AutumnGrove Cottage

“EK Life Safety has been a huge asset to AutumnGrove. Using their services, we are ‘batting a 1,000’ with the state. Passed inspections first time, every time with no deficiencies. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Randy Vanstory, Co-Founder

Buckner Retirement Services, Inc.

“Mr. Kellen with EK Life Safety Consulting was very knowledgeable and professional when assisting us with our Greenhouse project. Not only was Mr. Kellen able to recommend modifications, he suggested cost-effective solutions for both design and operation. I highly recommend EK Life Safety Consulting."

Charlie Wilson, Vice President of Operations

Air Force Villages

“Air Force Village Health Services Corp. contracted with EK Life Safety Consulting to improve the overall quality of our three Licensed Facilities and reduce the potential for Life Safety Code deficiencies to be cited. After a thorough inspection, their team documented potential areas of concern that even our DADS surveyors had not mentioned. Because of the nature of our business, DADS Life Safety surveys are becoming tougher each year and we were eager to become proactive in our planning process. Some corrections involved significant capital expense, and other issues required more time to attain competitive bids and work through budget planning issues.

Since the first inspection, we asked EK Life Safety to come back quarterly and monitor progress to ensure proper corrections were made. Both our maintenance staff and Administrators have learned from the process, and with help of EK Life Safety, we are developing a much better preventive maintenance program. EK Life Safety was also extremely helpful in simplifying our smoke barrier layout in one facility, which had grown redundant and complicated due to building additions.

Another facility just completed its annual DADS Life Safety survey, and it was the toughest survey yet. While we weren’t completely through our own correction list, we achieved fewer deficiencies than in the past because of our proactive planning with EK Life Safety. The fact that we were employing an outside service and proactively maintaining our buildings was favorably received by the DADS surveyors. Avoiding DADS money penalties alone more than paid for the services from EK Life Safety. We highly recommend EK Life Safety Consulting for any licensed facility to prepare for more stringent surveys ahead.”

Deborah Wiegand, Executive Director

Unlimited Care - Assisted Living Cottages

“I am writing this letter to commend EK Life Safety Consulting for their expertise in the area of safety, prevention and compliance with our vendors, partners and regulatory team DADS.

Eric and his team have been a tremendous resource to our company, Unlimited Care - Assisted Living Cottages, by being available for questions and counsel, detailed on-site surveys, as well as plan reviews with our architect, alarm, and sprinkler vendors. Eric “hit a home-run” when he recommended some relatively inexpensive changes to walls within one of our houses which both solved Life Safety issues and made it much more desirable.

By having EK Life Safety involved from the beginning, it helps us have a plan and work our plan. Not only is Eric and his team knowledgeable in the areas mentioned above, they have additional resources available in the areas of training, accessibility, collaborating with local Fire Marshals, fire codes, and best practices.

As a previous Life Safety surveyor for the Texas Department of Aging & Disability Services (DADS), Eric brings real, practical, no-nonsense application to safety and compliance and is now in a position to help many provide a safer environment to keep residents and associates out of harms way.

Thank you EK Life Safety Consulting.”

Buck and Terri Buckholtz

Baptist Memorials Ministries

“EK Life Safety Consulting and Mr. Kellen were very helpful in reviewing our Greenhouse construction project and helping ensure our design would meet the Texas licensing requirements. We were able to avoid costly changes by making modifications early in the project. Mr. Kellen would be an asset to any long-term care construction project.”

Patrick L. Crump, President & CEO

Cathedral Rock Corporation

“We have enjoyed our affiliation with EK Life Safety Consulting and have found Mr. Kellen’s experience and expertise to be an invaluable component of our project analysis and due diligence. We look forward to continuing our excellent relationship with EK in the years to come.”

Michael S. Evans, Executive Vice President

Holly Hall Retirement Community

“It is my sincere pleasure to highly recommend EK Life Safety Consulting to any long-term care or assisted living facility manager or director. Eric Kellen and his staff possess an expertise in Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (TDADS) life safety regulations and standards that is unsurpassed.

Holly Hall Retirement Community recently completed a total renovation of our Health Center and Assisted Living services. Old, outdated buildings were demolished and replaced with updated, larger structures. Construction companies and architects were recruited who professed to understand TDADS requirements. However, it was soon apparent that their knowledge was incomplete.

Eric Kellen’s team was engaged to assure readiness for licensing inspections. He quickly identified problems that would have resulted in lengthy and expensive delays had they not been corrected before surveyor inspections. Eric and his staff worked closely with the Holly Hall team before and during the inspections. Several times, I observed the TDADS surveyors asking Eric about aspects of the construction project. Eric quickly opened his ever-present books, turned to the paragraphs that applied, and addressed the surveyor’s questions. At the end of the final survey there were no deficiencies cited.

We will call upon Eric to assist with issues involving Life Safety or surveyor interactions. His services are incredibly valuable to us.

Please contact me with comments or questions.

With greatest sincerity and appreciation,”

Steven W. Moore, Executive Director

Luxury Living Constructors, Inc. / The Chaparral Group

“Without the continuous support from EK Life Safety Consulting, our new construction project would likely have become a hotel instead of an Assisted Living facility. At first, we thought the information we got from Eric was overkill, but it turned out to be right on target. We had many issues with our building and included Eric in our weekly jobsite progress meetings. Involving him in our project saved us countless problems later, as he reviewed and rechecked our issues constantly.

At our request, Eric was present during our initial DADS Life Safety survey and it made the difference between passing and not passing. The surveyors had many questions about building design features that EK Life Safety was able to explain in the surveyor’s language and with the proper NFPA references. The DADS surveyors stated that the direct, unbiased, and researched information Eric provided was the reason they recommended licensure with a plan of correction instead of failing the survey.

For our next project, we will involve EK Life Safety from the very beginning of the design process! The cost is negligible compared to the cost of not getting the design and construction right the first time.”

Chuck Nelson, President

West Janisch Health Care Center

“EK Life Safety Consulting saved us considerable time and money by helping us avoid remodeling part of our building. Since we had limited capacity for clean and soiled linen storage, CMS threatened to reduce our bed count by requiring us to convert resident rooms into storage, which then required special fire protection.

Eric found a better alternative. When inspecting our building, he located the original linen storage areas which already had the required fire protection. We only had to relocate some staff offices (which Eric also helped us coordinate) to reclaim the storage areas. Through his assistance, we were able to maintain our bed count, keep our linen properly stored (no more linen carts in the corridors!) and our laundry work flow is much better than before. EK Life Safety offered very useful advice on our operations as they relate to Life Safety and saved us considerable expense.”

Beverly Mustafa, Administrator

A Large Nursing Home

“We were extremely happy to learn that Eric Kellen formed EK Life Safety Consulting after his tenure as a DADS Life Safety surveyor. With his help, our initial survey on our new construction went well and passed the first time.

We have also used Eric with our continuing building renovation project. As construction has progressed, he helped us to ensure that the partitions between the construction and occupied areas were designed and built correctly. He also helped keep our evacuation procedures current with the construction, and helped ensure that our fire alarm and sprinkler systems were maintained in proper operation.

As part of the renovation project we decided to simplify our smoke barrier design, and EK Life Safety was a tremendous help in identifying where barriers were no longer needed. The decreased maintenance costs alone will more than pay for the services. We plan to use EK Life Safety Consulting on a regular basis to help us prepare for our annual DADS Life Safety surveys. We highly recommend EK Life Safety Consulting and the diverse experience they can bring to assist a facility.”

Administrator

West Rest Haven Nursing Home

"We were somewhat skeptical of bringing EK Life Safety Consulting in to our nursing center, since we were only cited for a few deficiencies in our past Life Safety surveys and they were fairly minor tags. But, we had noticed the surveys were getting tougher every year, and that the CMS comparative surveys were even more stringent. Since we were in our window for our next survey, we agreed to have Eric Kellen and his team complete a pre-survey inspection for us. And I am very glad that we did.

The EK Life Safety consultants conducted a very thorough and complete inspection of every Life Safety function in our nursing home. They examined everything – from our documentation to the electrical outlets on the outside of our building. They discovered one deficiency that could have been an Immediate Jeopardy, and other deficiencies that would have likely resulted in monetary penalties. Not only did Eric and his staff find and document potential deficiencies, they helped us determine the priority in which they should be addressed.

The very next day, we had our fire alarm and sprinkler service company providing maintenance and correcting issues Eric and his team found. And, we have ample time to get competitive bids from suppliers to complete the more expensive repairs. By taking action now, I am very confident that our building will be well prepared for our next Life Safety survey - whether from the State or from CMS.

Overall, I was very impressed with the professionalism and courteous manner of Eric and his staff. I highly recommend EK Life Safety Consulting to any healthcare center Administrator that wants to not only be prepared for the next Life Safety survey, but to truly help ensure the safety of their residents and staff.”

Rose Ann Morris, Administrator