Gatekeeper Award Goes to Janice Turner
DTE Energy recognizes Janice Turner, specialist, Customer Advocacy, Revenue Management and Protection, with its Gatekeeper of the Month Award.
While assisting a senior customer with concerns about her utility bill, Turner learned that the customer was facing many other challenges. Being concerned for her welfare, Turner submitted a Gatekeeper referral which brought the intervention of the Detroit Area Agency on Aging. more
Turner's referral led to the customer qualifying for a Medicaid waiver that allows eligible seniors who require nursing home-level care to receive that care in their homes. The customer was also referred to the Economic Security Initiative for further advice on making ends meet while on a fixed income, enabling older adults to continue to live independently.
Turner believes that the Gatekeeper Program reaffirms that DTE Energy is made up of employees who care.
When asked what she would like other employees to know about the Gatekeeper Program, she answered, "That's simple. It works!"
DTE Energy’s Mt. Pleasant Service Center keeps nursing home residents warm on a frigid winter afternoon
A natural gas leak detected at a Clare nursing home this winter required a heating system shutdown that could have forced elderly residents to vacate their building.
Instead, MichCon Mt. Pleasant Service Center employees Ryan Blain, Dick Brooks, Doug Dysinger and Rick Krell, went above and beyond their duties to ensure the residents remained warm in their rooms while they worked on repairing the leak. more
An investigation of the building determined the gas leak was caused by the customer’s fuel line, not a MichCon service line. Employees gained permission to make the repair to ensure the residents weren’t displaced. In order to repair the line, natural gas was cut to roughly 75 percent of the building. Our employees had to work fast since it was late in the afternoon and evening temperatures were predicted to drop below zero.
“We have strict guidelines for air temperatures in resident rooms,” the nursing home administrator explained. “Due to the diligent efforts of your crew, we did not have to displace any residents from their rooms due to the dropping temperatures. We were fully back online at 12:30 a.m. --- after six hours without heat.”
Mike Demos, MichCon supervisor of Gas operations, praises all employees at the Mt. Pleasant Service Center for their commitment to customer service, exemplified by this incident.
“These guys are amazing,” said Demos. “This wasn’t a simple job by any means. There were a lot of twists and turns, and without their knowledge, determination and professionalism, something like 90 residents and 50 staff people would have needed to move to another location while the repairs were made.
“Some residents living at the nursing home were mobile, but the vast majority weren’t. We would have had to get Emergency Management of Clare County involved to help. It would have been a huge undertaking, but because of this crew, and everyone else at the station, that was avoided. They’re the best. I just don’t know any other way to put it.“
DTE Energy Foundation
