Staff Reports
LeadingAge Florida President and CEO Steve Bahmer will represent aging services on a Tallahassee task force looking into how communities can better bounce back after a big storm.
“Steve brings expertise, energy, and insight to the task force,” said former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp in a press release Wednesday. “As an association, LeadingAge Florida has a reputation for providing the highest quality of care to their residents, including during natural disasters.”
The blue-ribbon panel is an initiative of Citizens for Responsible Spending, organized by Tallahassee lobbyist Barney Bishop III.
City officials were criticized as neighborhoods and businesses went days without power after Hurricane Hermine, while the city held off on accepting offers of help from other utilities.
“This private-sector task force is not about reviewing what went right and wrong when Hurricane Hermine hit Tallahassee,” Bishop said last month. “It’s about how our community can be better prepared for the next hurricane or natural disaster, and how we can share these lessons with others across our state and nation.”
LeadingAge Florida represents the interests of the state’s nursing homes and retirement communities.
“We are working with government officials to ensure that those who are the most vulnerable in Tallahassee — the nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospice, and other homes where people rely on power for essential medical care — are a priority in the event something like this happens again,” Bahmer said.
The task force is expected to roll out its final report and recommendations by the end of next week.
