Bridge Loan Helps Haines City-based Business Serve Elderly
Palm Krest Manor of Polk County
A hurricane making landfall is concerning for any normal resident or business owner in the coastal states, but it’s especially difficult for those who take care of the elderly. The State of Florida requires all assisted living facilities to have a generator in case of emergencies. While Palm Krest Manor, an assisted living facility based in Haines City, had portable generators to use when Hurricane Irma wiped out power in September 2017, what they really needed was a generator to run the entire facility.
Owner David Schafer, decided to apply for a State of Florida Emergency Bridge Loan to help with the cost of a full facility generator. The loan is interest-free and repayable within six months, meant to help businesses bridge the gap between natural disaster and economic recovery.
When asked about his experience with the storm and the assistance received from the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, which administers the loan, Schafer recalled:
What type of damage occurred?
From Hurricane Irma we were out of electricity for a week. In the state of Florida, the state now mandates that all facilities have a generator in the building. We had small portable generators but we would like to have a generator for the entire building so that each resident has air conditioning and keeps electricity throughout any situation if it was ever to happen again.
How will the Bridge Loan help?
I’m not quite sure how we would’ve stayed in business without this bridge loan. This is a loan that really allows us to stay in business because of the state requiring the generator.
How was the Florida SBDC at USF helpful during this process?
This was an amazing process to go through. It wasn’t harassing or menacing in any way. It was a very simple process. It went quickly and everybody was pleasant to deal with.
