Bear breaks into Pennsylvania retirement home, nurses take action: ‘I grabbed a walker and was hitting him’

INDIANA Pennsylvania KDKA Nursing homes are used to having visitors but a retirement population in western Pennsylvania had a rather unbearable guest on Tuesday night Presbyterian Senior Living which runs St Andrew s Village in Indiana Pennsylvania reported a juvenile male black bear broke through a window a little after p m Agents explained he was looking for food but what he ascertained was Charlene Elliot and a limited other St Andrew s nurses I grabbed a walker and was hitting him trying to get him away from the residents Elliot mentioned Cause my thought was he was going to from quick reaction from them he s going to maul them or swipe slap at them That was my worst fear Elliot declared that specific nurses tried to lure the bear out of rooms with things like Rice Krispies treats but she disclosed it took her and her squad basically wrangling the bear and pushing it out of the door to get it to go The Pennsylvania Tournament Commission later came and set up a bear trap Early Wednesday morning they were able to humanely catch and relocate the -pound yearling I feel I went above and beyond for my residents and that s the way I feel I would put my life on the line for them and pretty much I did Elliot commented Elliot commented that nothing like this has ever happened to her before but no doubt residents are happy that she acted fast and was smarter than the average bear We are incredibly proud of our unit s quick thinking and dedication to ensuring the safety of everyone in our society To prevent future wildlife encounters the event warden safely relocated the bear to a more suitable habitat in the modern day and all bird feeders on our campus were removed Presbyterian Senior Living declared in a news release According to the Pennsylvania Contest Commission there are about black bears in the state and while they re usually afraid of humans chosen that live close by can become habituated If there are food sources like bird feeders or garbage cans bears that are used to people can be drawn to backyards The Event Commission says Pennsylvania s black bears are rather non-confrontational and attacks are rare The majority of the time black bears are just looking for an easy meal While there s no real playbook for a bear current into a nursing home the Event Commission says if you do find yourself in a situation like this inevitably protect yourself and invariably try to make sure there is an open door for the animal to go out