Lora Pfeffer, vice president of Premier Parking's health care division.
+ Regulatory
Karen Kidd | Apr 6, 2020

'Our team is the front line', vice president of parking company's health care division, says of employees

A nationwide parking and transportation management company that has been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to furlough many workers nationwide is also providing essential services to Nashville-area health care.

"We certainly are not unique," Lora Pfeffer, vice president of Premier Parking's health care division in the company's Nashville office, told Patient Daily. "Many businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. But for now my ask is that we consider the front line in terms that extend beyond the traditional roles filled within the four walls of a hospital."

Premier Parking provides third party services in the Nashville area, despite having to furlough so many of its workers.  

"The fallout for our workforce has been devastating," Pfeffer said. "The economic downturn has forced us to let go of nearly 1,000 employees in the last two weeks. That gut- wrenching figure represents hundreds of families, spouses, children - my coworkers, my friends - now dealing with the stark financial reality they face while weathering out the storm of a global health crisis."

Pfeffer said she doesn't want to detract "from the incredible efforts we have seen from our nation’s health care professionals." 

She said she does want "to amplify the scope of appreciation to include those not so readily visible to the public eye," including those Premier Parking employees who serve in health care areas.

Despite the dramatic drop in employees due to COVID-19, Premier Parking's Nashville office is maintaining a presence in the area's health care space referred to as "purchased services."

"This classification describes third party service providers from laundry to environmental services, pest control, and so on," Pfeffer said. "But in my admittedly biased opinion, our parking and valet attendants, greeters, ambassadors and now our COVID-19 screeners, represent a unique role, especially in the unprecedented times we face with the coronavirus pandemic."

Those Premier Parking workers in Nashville often are the first interaction a patient has, Pfeffer said.

"Our team is the front line as the first interaction a patient has when coming to a hospital campus," she said. "This is a responsibility we never take lightly, but the added weight of COVID-19 amplifies the magnitude of our team’s service."

The impact of coronavirus on the nation and the world will be felt for a generation, if not longer, Pfeffer said.

"While my faith remains steadfast in the resolve, determination, and grit of the American people to persevere, I would regret standing silently by and not raising a voice to some of the unsung heroes I am honored to work with each day," she said. "They may not wear scrubs or carry stethoscopes, but they are on the front line of our nation’s pandemic battle. All I ask is that recognition be given and their story heard."

Pfeffer is not the only Premier Parking employee who has noticed.

Earlier this week, Premier Parking COO William Clay called for more help to start flowing to his industry that has been hard hit by the economic freefall wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The phase III stimulus package, which included extended unemployment benefits and was passed by the U.S. House and Senate last month, likely will help most of Premier Parking's furloughed employees but the company also is struggling, Clay said.

"We are asking that the parking industry [NAICS 812930] be recognized as an industry in need of assistance, and we are asking for business interruption insurance to be granted to our company [and others like us] in this time of great need," Clay told Tennessee Business Daily.

Premier Parking employs more than 2,000 associates in more than 600 locations in more than 40 cities across the nation, providing services at concerts, sports and other events.

Those events have been postponed or canceled, drying up Premier Parking's business as the company's potential customers are largely stuck at home waiting out the crisis. That has led to the furlough of hundreds of Premier Parking's employees.

The majority of Premier Parking's workforce are in field operations, including valet drivers at hotels, also shut down by the crisis, and shuttle bus drivers for hotel employees who also have been largely furloughed.

"Through no fault of their own, their lives have been turned upside down, Clay said."They lost a steady job with a reliable paycheck and are facing repercussions that may seem insurmountable for many.”

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