ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Residents at a local senior high-rise say elevator troubles are leaving them stranded.
“I’m so angry and frustrated at this point; it’s just morally...it’s disrespectful,” Barbara Pace told Channel 11.
For the last two days, Pace has been stuck inside her unit at Mt. Nazareth Commons in Ross Township.
The reason is the repeatedly broken elevator in the building.
“I’m going on 100 and I’m falling apart. So the building is too. They need to invest some big bucks to make a permanent solution; it’s dangerous,” Pace said.
A spokesperson for the Presbyterian SeniorCare network told Channel 11 that the elevator has had service issues over the years. Some repairs are quickly made, while others take longer.
When this happens, residents can call a maintenance man to escort them on a several-minute walk to the other side of the building to use an elevator that is meant for the daycare that also operates out of the space.
“That’s not his responsibility as the maintenance man in here. He can’t be expected to do that. He’s not here every day!” Pace said.
Just yesterday, Pace says a resident had to wait for the maintenance man to get there from another job.
“She lost her leg; her chances are very limited. She was sitting outside when the power went down and had to wait over an hour before someone could let her come upstairs.”
The spokesperson for the senior home also told Channel 11 that the elevator system that they use isn’t manufactured anymore, so replacement parts aren’t available, and repairs are made with refurbished parts.
The elevator company is apparently looking for a more permanent solution.
Until that permanent solution, Pace and other residents remain frustrated.
“I’ll be 85 in four more months, and I have to worry about safety day in and day out and not able to do simple things like get my medicine. Go to a doctor’s appointment; there’s no way at this stage in my life that I should be dealing with something like this,” Pace said.
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