Westminster-Thurber Community 2012

A Commitment to Quality

Nestled in-between the city of Columbus and Ohio State University, Westminster-Thurber Community is more than a beautiful campus. Since 1964, this Continuing Care Retirement Community has upheld a tradition of compassion, providing the highest quality of care to its residents. With the health and happiness of their elders a priority, the staff at Westminster-Thurber Community dedicates their days to enhancing the physical, mental and spiritual well being of their residents.

This dedication has earned them national recognition by the health care community and beyond. In 2012, Westminster-Thurber Community was recognized for the second consecutive year with a Gold Medal™ IPM Partner Award – an honor bestowed upon Orkin partners that go above and beyond to maintain a successful Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.

We spoke with Anthony Shumaker, Westminster-Thurber Community’s assistant director of environmental services, about their award-winning partnership with Orkin. Here is an edited transcription of that interview.

What makes your program award-winning?

“I think we won the Gold Medal™ award due to the proactive nature of our relationship with Orkin. We continuously work with Orkin to assess our facility and its needs, implement solutions and monitor our IPM program, and we have consistently seen results!”

Why is IPM so important to your facility?

“IPM is crucial to our varied homes, from independent living to 24-hour skilled care. In addition to threatening the health and safety of our staff and elders, disease transmitting pests like rodents, cockroaches and flies threaten our company’s reputation and credibility as one of central Ohio’s finest retirement and rehabilitation communities. IPM helps protect our facility from these threats.”

How would you describe your relationship with Orkin?

“We have a close working relationship with Orkin. Our Orkin Pros are responsive to our facilities’ needs and our employees have been trained to be vigilant with reporting any signs of pests.”

Why did you choose Orkin’s Gold Medal™ Protection program?

“We selected Orkin based on their reputation and comprehensive protection program. It was clear to us soon after establishing our relationship that we indeed had found a partner we could entrust our reputation with!”

What results have you seen from the Gold Medal™ Protection program?

“Our commitment to the Gold Medal™ Protection program has culminated in zero deficiencies for pest related state surveys over the last four years since we began our partnership with Orkin. Orkin stresses as we do, constant assessment of our professional goals and teamwork."