Frontier Communications announced one of the company’s newest commercial contracts, Marquis Companies.

Based in Milwaukie, Oregon, Marquis Companies manages assisted-living facilities, post-acute rehab facilities and Alzheimer’s facilities, and provides in-home services for elderly individuals.

Over the course of two years, Marquis worked with Frontier on multiple projects, including the transfer of telecommunications systems from three older buildings into new buildings and the overhaul of a phone system in an existing facility.

Going into these projects with Frontier, Marquis Companies IT Project Manager John Acker was aware that when making system changes like these, wires can get tangled — figuratively and sometimes literally. When Marquis performed similar system switches in the past — using a different telecom company — things didn’t always turn out well.

Working with Frontier, however, was the polar opposite. “With Frontier, these types of projects could not have gone any smoother,” Acker said.

This positive experience with Frontier started when Marquis needed to transfer phone systems from its former building in Newberg, Oregon, to a new 55-room facility. Two weeks later, Marquis called on Frontier again for a similar but even larger building switchover project in Tualatin, Oregon.

Both projects not only involved transitioning service from one physical location to a new building, but also required Frontier provide Marquis with telephone technology that aligned with the diverse needs of staff and residents. While staff need features like call forwarding, paging and advanced voicemail features, residents prefer to use simple phones they often bring from their previous residences.

“Frontier provided us with systems that weren’t too complicated or too simple — but that were just right,” Acker stated. “They listened, heard what we needed and delivered exactly that.”

Marquis called on Frontier a third time to transition a phone system from an older building to a new building at their Mill Park, Oregon location, and Frontier’s most recent undertaking for Marquis involved upgrading an outdated and failing phone system at the company’s Centennial facility in Portland. One key improvement Frontier brought to this facility was the forwarding of calls from the nursing desk to cell phones carried by staff members on duty.

“This enhancement has been tremendous,” Acker said. “It allows nurses to be mobile and provide the maximum amount of care — they don’t have to run all the way back to the desk to pick up calls.”

And as each project proceeded smoothly, Marquis quickly realized Frontier was a company they want to continue working with.

“Our team at Marquis has genuinely enjoyed the support of Frontier,” Acker praised. “Four projects in 24 months really puts you in the trenches with the company you’re partnering with. You get to know them and they get to know you. And we’ve really liked everything we’ve experienced with Frontier.”