COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Quick action by employees from a local landscaping company likely saved the life of a man who was left outside in the cold early Thursday morning at an assisted living facility in Colorado Springs.
Those landscapers showed up at The Bridge at Colorado Springs Assisted Living Center at around 1:30 a.m. Thursday to begin shoveling snow from the sidewalks. They found the man sitting in his walker just outside of a side door to the building in the 2400 block of International Circle. He was wearing a light jacket but had no heavy coat or other winter clothing.
Data from the National Weather Service show the temperature in Colorado Springs was 2 degrees Fahrenheit at the time with a wind chill measured -9.
The crew members took a photograph of the man, then ran to get the attention of the staff at The Bridge and called 911. They said an employee at the facility came out of the same door where the man was sitting but then became locked out. So, the crew helped her to wheel the man through the parking lot to the main entrance.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department confirmed that they responded to a medical call at the time and address provided by the landscaping company for a report of cold exposure. A spokesperson for the department said the patient was taken to a local hospital for treatment but they could not provide an update on his condition.
News 5 checked the inspection data on file with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for the Bridge Assisted Living at Life Care Center of Colorado Springs found that the facility had four citations in the past two years.
The two most recent citations in Octoberand November were for failing to submit employee COVID vaccination rates to the state. The facility was also cited twice in 2020 for not following state-ordered COVID safety procedures.
The employees from the landscaping company did not wish to be interviewed about their ordeal. News 5 shared the information they relayed to us with the CDPHE and provided them with the photo and video of the event.
We also made multiple calls to the facility to inquire about how the man came to be left alone outside in such cold temperatures. We are awaiting a statement from the company'S corporate office, Century Park Associates, whose headquarters are located in Cleveland, Tennessee.
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