More than 60 patients at the Golden Cross Health Care nursing home in Pasadena were evacuated overnight on orders from the state Attorney General's Office due to various problems, including concerns about protocols related to the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said Friday.
Video from the scene showed dozens of ambulances lined up outside the facility at 1450 N. Fair Oaks Ave. about 11 p.m. Thursday and patients being placed inside the vehicles.
According to figures provided by the city, there have been more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus at the facility -- 72 among residents and 32 among staff -- and eight people have died.
Lisa Derderian of the city of Pasadena said the facility was “in the process of being de-licensed,” and the patients were relocated to other facilities under orders from the state Attorney General's Office.
The patients were relocated by private ambulances, and none required hospitalization, Derderian said.
“As of this past weekend ... our fire chief and our health officer were at the facility assessing patients,” Derderian said. “We got to the point last night where it was in the best interest of the residents' health and safety to have them moved out of the facility.”
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“For weeks, we've been working with the different agencies with oversight,” Derderian said.
“We've had our health department involved, our fire department, police department, city attorney's office, city manager's office. Some of (the problems) are COVID-related, others are not.”
Derderian said the city was “very proactive” in addressing the problems at the facility and “a lot of resources were dedicated because of our city's concerns ... that led to our having to intervene.”
“This facility failed to provide most basic functions in caring for these patients, including sufficient nutrition or water; safety, not only from COVID but also basic medical needs,” Derderian said.
“The city staff has repeatedly and relentlessly pushed the state to act on the information that we've collected for several weeks,” Derderian said.
