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 locality in western Pennsylvania had a rather unbearable guest on Tuesday night Presbyterian Senior Living which runs St Andrew s Village in Indiana Pennsylvania declared a juvenile male black bear broke through a window a little after p m Functionaries announced he was looking for food but what he determined was Charlene Elliot and a sparse other St Andrew s nurses I grabbed a walker and was hitting him trying to get him away from the residents Elliot explained 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 revealed that chosen nurses tried to lure the bear out of rooms with things like Rice Krispies treats but she explained it took her and her unit basically wrangling the bear and pushing it out of the door to get it to go The Pennsylvania Competition 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 announced 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 band s quick thinking and dedication to ensuring the safety of everyone in our district To prevent future wildlife encounters the contest warden safely relocated the bear to a more suitable habitat currently and all bird feeders on our campus were removed Presbyterian Senior Living mentioned in a news release According to the Pennsylvania Encounter Commission there are about black bears in the state and while they re usually afraid of humans specific 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 Competition Commission says Pennsylvania s black bears are rather non-confrontational and attacks are rare Preponderance of the time black bears are just looking for an easy meal While there s no real playbook for a bear urgent into a nursing home the Challenge Commission says if you do find yourself in a situation like this inevitably protect yourself and constantly try to make sure there is an open door for the animal to go out