“My dad needs daily care”: Broken elevator leaves disabled and sick stuck in Globe Mill apartments

By TORI APODACA

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    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — An elevator in a downtown Sacramento apartment complex has been down for nearly a week, essentially trapping some of the elderly or disabled in their units.

“It has been terrible because my dad needs daily care,” said Tasha Nieto, whose father, Jack Means, Sr., lives on the fourth floor of the Lofts at Globe Mills apartment complex downtown. “He has bladder cancer. He has missed his bloodwork and everything because he cannot go up and down the stairs.”

The stairs are the only option for Jack to reach his doctor appointments and the outside world.

The manager at Globe Mills told CBS13 that they are waiting on a new cable part after an inspection on March 24 showed that the cable was shredding.

“He also has hip damage and hip replacement, so he has a hard time walking, and he has also had surgery on both knees,” said Nieto.

It has also been a challenge for Jack’s two daughters to reach him at his unit on the fourth floor of the historical flour mill turned apartment complex.

“We do not have a key fob to get in downstairs and he physically cannot go downstairs to let us in,” Nieto told CBS13.

She said about a week ago, Jack took a fall from his bed, and since the elevator has been out, he tried the climb for himself one time.

“He barely made it,” said Nieto. “I mean he went up step by step.”

A solution for Jack did not come until about an hour after CBS13 spoke with management.

“About ten minutes ago, the front office called and said they are going to put me up in a motel room,” said Jack.

This was a sigh of relief for Jack and his daughters, but there are still many other elderly and disabled residents who are staying put.

“I do not know what they are going to do if there is a fire,” Jack told CBS13.

A spokesperson from the Sacramento Fire Department said they are ready to respond to this. In an emergency, they would have the people shelter in place the best they could away from danger. The spokesperson also said the building was recently modernized with fire sprinklers.

“These issues do happen, and we need to watch out for each other and take care of each other when a situation like this happens,” said Nieto. “It is hard. It is really hard. We do what we can for our parents.”

The manager at Globe Mills told CBS13 that they are offering motel rooms for those who want them. She does not know if the cable part they are waiting on will take a week or a month to arrive.

A spokeswoman from the City of Sacramento said the code chief and fire personnel will be looking into making sure that the tenants have access to exit the building, such as chairlifts to take them downstairs.

Sacramento Fire said it can also assist an elderly or disabled resident in a non-emergency situation, but this would be a low-priority call.

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