Leading Continuing Care Community Brightens Its Emergency Preparedness With Sentina LED Lighting

 At a continuing care retirement community like Westminster Canterbury Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, the staff take every measure and precaution to provide their residents with the utmost in care, quality and safety. After experiencing an extended power outage due to Hurricane Irene, the management team at Westminster Canterbury Richmond purchased 675 Sentina rechargeable LED lights to install in more than 600 residences throughout the community.

According to Bob Cox, Vice President Support Services at Westminster Canterbury Richmond, “After losing power for 30 hours during Hurricane Irene, we spoke with our residents and learned there was a need to expand our emergency lighting system from hallways and common areas into the bedrooms and private residences. We recognized that the cost to install additional generators and emergency power was excessive. So with input from our residents we explored the alternatives and discovered that with Sentina plug-in LED nightlights, that can also be used as flashlights, we can provide an effective, energy-efficient solution to improve the safety and quality of living for our residents for a fraction of the cost of installing generators.”

After researching the benefits of LED lighting and comparing the products available, they chose Datexx’s Sentina LED-92M four-way emergency lights with sensors that detect motion, darkness and power outages. The Sentina LED-92M simply plugs into a wall socket and performs for pennies per day. The light activates only when approached, when in darkness or in a power outage. At all other times the light remains off, with no need to turn off a switch or unplug the light. When taken out of the electrical outlet, the light operates as a rechargeable emergency flash light for up to eight hours, which means there are no batteries to worry about.

“We chose the Sentina LED-92M specifically because it has several functions and features that provide added safety for our residents,” Cox continued. “We wanted a light that could be bright when needed, but also serve as a muted nightlight, and then could be unplugged from the wall and used as a flashlight without the need to replace batteries. After all, what good is a flashlight if it sits in the closet for five years and has dead batteries when you need it most? Also, the motion and power outage sensors make these better than normal lamps in some ways, because our residents don’t need to flip a light switch to turn them on if they wake up in the middle of the night. And because they are LED lights, they cost very little to operate and will last basically forever, saving us a tremendous amount of money in the long run.”

According to Datexx President Mei Noguchi, “Sentina LED lighting products can help retirement and continuing care communities ensure the safety of their residents by providing bright lights that are simple to use and always there when they need them. The cost-effectiveness makes these lights the ideal solution for communities of any size on any budget, and they are a simple way to increase the quality of care.”

Through the ministry efforts of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and the Presbyterian Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, Westminster Canterbury Richmond opened its welcoming doors to residents in 1975, providing secure independent living combined with a continuum of care. It is now one of the largest non-profit single-site continuing care retirement communities in the United States. Located in Richmond Virginia, the community has more than 1.2 million feet of living space and is home to more than 900 residents.

Headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, Datexx is a leading manufacturer and marketer of innovatively-designed, affordably priced products that help consumers manage their time and money. For more than 15 years, the company has proudly met the needs of smart consumers seeking smarter living solutions. To date, more than 20-million consumers have joined the Datexx family of satisfied customers.

New California Veterans' Home Points The Way To The Future With Installation of Motion Sensitive LED Lighting

The brand new West Los Angeles, California Veterans’ Home is a state-of-the-art 400,000 square foot assisted living and skilled nursing facility that will eventually be called home by almost 400 veterans and a staff of 700 who will work there. Designed in every respect to help make life as easy as possible for the veterans who will live there, the facility features more than 500 Sentina® plug-in motion-sensing LED emergency lights.


Sentina, the industry-leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and commercial LED lighting solutions, designed its line of plug-in LED home lighting products for consumers and businesses looking to improve safety and emergency preparedness while cutting energy and construction costs. The Sentina LED-92M, one of the models featured throughout the facility, is actually a four-way emergency light. Fully charged to support motion, darkness, and power outage sensors, the Sentina LED-92M light simply plugs into a wall socket and performs for pennies per day. The light activates only when approached, in darkness, or in a power outage. In all other times, the light remains off. When disconnected from the socket, the light will also perform as an emergency flash light for up to eight hours.

“Our residents deserve the highest level of comfort and care. We wanted to provide them with enhanced safety and emergency lighting for nighttime use and in case of power outages, but we also wanted to avoid construction costs and minimize energy consumption,” said Louis Koff, administrator of the West Los Angeles Veterans’ Home. “To achieve this goal we placed Sentina’s LED lighting products in bedrooms, bathrooms, offices and hallways. One of the things we like most is that residents can place them in their bedrooms wherever is most convenient and useful for them.”

As a result, according to Koff, lights are automatically turned on when residents get up in the middle of the night or walk down a darkened hallway. As soon as the motion sensor detects their presence, the lights turn on. When residents leave the immediate area covered by the motion sensor, the lights turn off. Thus, safety is enhanced and energy is conserved.

“At such a large facility, it is important to contain energy costs wherever possible,” Koff explained. “Thanks to Sentina’s motion and light sensitive LED safety lights, gone are the days of leaving a bathroom or hallway light burning all night long. The majority of residents at the Veterans’ Home are between the ages of 70 and 90, and having nightlight and flashlight functionality available all the time helps to make the facility safer and prevent accidents.”

“Before, some offices and bathrooms would have been pitch dark in a power outage, leaving occupants and staff stranded,” said Koff. “Our decision to install plug-in LED lighting was really a matter of convenience and providing peace of mind to everyone at the home. The price of the LED lights will pay for itself in the long run by eliminating the need to leave standard bulbs burning all night, and because the LED lights last basically forever and never need to be replaced.”

According to Mei Noguchi, President of Sentina, the California Veterans Home is at the forefront of an emerging trend that is only going to grow in importance as the Baby Boom generation ages. “The largest generation in American history will soon be moving in large numbers into a variety of senior living communities. As they do so, enormous new strains will be placed on the owner operators of these facilities. Sentina LED lighting solutions can play a major role in helping owner operators of assisted living communities to achieve the twin goal of enhanced safety at lower energy costs.”

Sentina manufactures and sells a full line of home, office and mobile LED lighting solutions including motion and light sensitive plug-in safety nightlights, timers to automatically control standard house lamps and keychain safety flashlights.

Headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, Sentina™, a division of Teledex, Inc., is a leading manufacturer and marketer of innovative consumer and business LED lighting solutions, household, travel and mobility products that are both energy and cost-efficient. For more than 15 years, the company has proudly met the needs of smart consumers seeking smarter living solutions. To date, more than 20 million consumers have joined the Sentina family of satisfied customers.