Seniors living inside a Clinton Township senior apartment complex say they’re still being stranded in the lobby for hours without their medication because the elevators won’t work.
The complex says they are now ordering two new elevators.
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Local 4 first published a story about the same complex’s elevator issues in late May.
“They can’t get up to take their medicine, refresh their oxygen, they can’t even get upstairs - so they are calling their families saying, ‘please come and get me,’” a resident at St. George’s Tower in Clinton Township said.
This resident, who is the same person Local 4 spoke to in May, asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.
Residents reached out to Local 4 again because both elevators were out again. As of Friday, management says things seem to be working, but residents say this is a monthslong merry-go-round that never stays fixed.
They also say the stakes are serious: missed appointments and missed medication.
“There’s the fear of getting stuck in the elevator,” a resident said. “Like I said, the ride down was like this ‘boom, boom, boom.’ I am going, ‘No!’ So, I said a prayer on the way down, I really did.”
Residents say the elevator problems started last fall. Sometimes one works and the other is down. But, many times, both are down.
“The families, they are just up in arms. They are going, ‘I just moved my mother in here and she’s got to live like this,’”
Local 4 pressed the apartment complex on this again.
“This week, the second elevator at St. George’s Tower experienced an unexpected outage lasting approximately two days,” the complex said. “We immediately contacted our elevator service provider, who restored service as quickly and safely as possible, and we coordinated closely with emergency services and the fire marshal to ensure residents maintained access to emergency services. We understand the frustration and inconvenience this situation has caused our residents. Two new elevators have been ordered and will be installed as soon as possible to remedy the situation.”
“They are ready for their appointments, going to jump on the elevator, but couldn’t,” the resident said.
Many say it’s impacting morale – and leaving people without the things they need.
“Poor little old man, was so upset that he could not get upstairs. He had a walker, oxygen, and people, not mentioning any names, just told him, ‘you may need to find another place to live, just leave.’ Now, is that giving him a feeling of security?” the resident said.