After powering through grueling work hours, medical professionals across the country are making the difficult decision to spend their nights in garages or hotels to protect their families from contracting the coronavirus. Although it’s the best decision for their families’ health, it can be tough on medical professionals’ pockets, as the average hotel room costs $130 per night.
After hearing the story of a Dallas nurse who was sleeping on her balcony to safeguard her family, real estate developer Sean Terry stepped in and offered to pay for the nurse’s lodging and meals at The Statler, a well-known luxury hotel and apartment building that Terry’s company renovated in 2017.
Sean Terry
After his kind act went viral on social media, Terry and The Statler struck a deal to provide free rooms and meals to workers at Baylor Medical Center, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Children’s Medical Center, Parkland Memorial Hospital and other area hospitals.
“I am very blessed to be in a position that allows me to help many people,” said Terry, who is the vice president of entitlements at Centurion American and mayor of Celina, Texas. “I am proud to work with Centurion American and our partners to help those medical heroes on the frontline to get much-needed rest while preserving the safety of their families.”
To request a room, workers and hospitals must email Centurion American, who will coordinate with The Statler to reserve a room on one of the two floors designated for medical professionals. Included with the reservation is three daily meal vouchers that can be used for no-contact food delivery.
The Statler Asset Manager Colin Moore said medical professionals aren’t allowed in common areas to protect residents who live in The Statler’s apartment units. The hotel has limited reservations to only include travelers with urgent needs and medical professionals who want to take advantage of their special $99/per night rate, which launched before Terry’s initiative.
[Inman Slideshow]
“Aimbridge and Hilton have a well-developed protocol or precautionary measures designed for situations such as this,” he said in an email. “This expanded and specific housekeeping protocol is designed to keep staff, guests and future guests safe. We are well supplied with medical-grade cleaning and protection gear.”
Colin Moore
Moore also revealed medical professionals are following stringent guidelines before entering the hotel that includes washing and sanitizing their scrubs and protective gear at the hospital, taking their temperature before leaving work, and only using the hotel’s front entrance to avoid contact with residents.
“The medical professionals staying at the Statler are ‘sheltering-in-place’ as the rest of us are as well who work for essential businesses and are still working,” he concluded. “Those staying with us are not in quarantine.”
The Statler and Centurion American have committed to providing free rooms for medical professionals as long as the pandemic persists, and current guests can stay as long as they need to.
“It is the responsibility of all of us to find creative solutions to the problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Terry said in a prepared statement. “I would call upon other corporate leaders who want to support this effort to reach out to our team, and we’ll take their donations to help allocate additional space to those first responders at cost.”
Want to contribute to Centurion Americans’ initiative or know a Dallas-based medical professional who needs help? Email CenturionCares@CenturionAmerican.com.
