Vinnie Cafiero
Jul 2026
I am incredibly frustrated with the lack of emergency preparedness at Brandywine Howell by Monarch. My 92-year-old mother is a resident here, and they have been without power for over 24 hours now due to the recent storm—with no restoration expected for another full day.<br><br>While I don’t blame them for the storm, I absolutely blame them for being completely unprepared for this situation. They suggested running an extension cord down the hallway to power my mother’s oxygen machine, but that does absolutely nothing to address the dangerous, stifling heat in her third-floor room.<br><br>As I was packing up my mother to get her to safety, I saw a woman in the elevator who was on the verge of passing out from the heat. The ground floor was packed with elderly residents trying to escape the conditions, and I’ll never forget the image of an elderly man across from my mother’s room, just sitting there in the sweltering heat because he didn't want to leave.<br><br>For over ten thousand dollars a month, you would think this facility would have at least one outlet per room backed by a generator to keep our most vulnerable residents safe. To make matters worse, they were clearly short-staffed due to the holiday.<br><br>Families deserve better than this. If you have a loved one here, please check on them immediately.
