Jean Jackson is a spry 94-year-old Las Vegan who was relying on a two small, barely functioning window air conditioners to cool her one bedroom trailer during Nevada’s brutally hot summer. When they wore out and failed, she knew she was in trouble.
Jackson’s original air conditioners were so old they couldn’t be replaced; they aren’t made anymore. What’s worse, Jackson’s home, where she’s lived for 33 years, needed rewiring to support a newer system. Because she was living off of Social Security, the cost of putting in that system was prohibitive.
For older adults, living in Las Vegas’ summer heat without air conditioning can be dangerous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say older adults don’t adjust as easily to changes in temperature as younger people and are likelier to have chronic medical conditions that change normal body responses to heat, something Jackson knows well.
Jackson has been hospitalized from heatstroke in the past, and when her air conditioning unit died, paramedics suggested she move to a nursing home or deal with the risk of heatstroke.
“It’s hard to deal with this weather,” Jackson said. “It was too hot and I had to go to the hospital because they thought I had heatstroke,”
So Goettl Air Conditioning and its sister company The Sunny Plumber, led by owner Ken Goodrich, reached out to the Clark County Social Service Department and got connected with Jackson.
“I think it’s incumbent on all businesspeople to look after their community,” Goodrich said, “and to give back to people who are less fortunate.”
The Sunny Plumber fixed Jackson’s water line, while Goettl Air Conditioning, with help of Daikin-Goodman Global, created a custom mini-split unit for Jackson’s home, a system that will let her cool her house in the summer and warm it in the winter.
If Jackson had been paying for the work done on her home, it would have cost her almost $14,000.
“You always have to be grateful and these people have no idea how grateful I am for their help at my home,” Jackson said. “It’s a godsend.”
The work will let her keep her home and her independence.
“I don’t want to move and I don’t want to go to a nursing home,” she said. “As long as I can keep my independence, I will be happy.”
About Goettl Air Conditioning
Goettl Air Conditioning was originally created by Gust and Adam Goettl in 1939 and came to the Las Vegas Valley in 1968. Because of the recession, the company left Southern Nevada in 2007 and returned in 2015. Goettl Air Conditioning offers new units, maintenance, and repair to residential heating ventilation and air conditioning systems. All technicians are background-checked, drug-tested, and receive continuous technical training to make them the best in the industry. For more information, visit lasvegas.goettl.com
About The Sunny Plumber
The Sunny Plumber offers the highest-quality plumbing services throughout the Southwest. All plumbers are experienced in solving a wide variety of plumbing problems including drain cleaning, leak detection, sewer line, garbage disposal repair, standard and tankless water heater maintenance and replacement. All plumbers are background-checked, drug-tested, and receive continuous technical training to make them the best in the industry. For more information, visit sunnyplumber.com