Nursing home evacuees faced cot shortages in Pasadena, medical staff say

Over the past two days, emergency crews evacuated at least 1,400 residents from dozens of Pasadena-area nursing homes and assisted living facilities as the Eaton Fire threatened the region, according to state officials.

The mass evacuation of care-dependent residents, mostly over age 65, created immediate health risks for this fragile population and stretched public health officials' coordination capabilities to their limits.

As flames closed in Tuesday night, TV news crews captured residents in wheelchairs and gurneys staging in a 7-Eleven parking lot and being hurried into ambulances outside two senior centers in Pasadena. And medical staff at the Pasadena Civic Center reported a chaotic scene with basic supplies like gloves and hand sanitizer unavailable, cot shortages and nursing home residents transported without basics like socks and incontinence products.

The dramatic scenes expose a critical challenge for nursing homes: Evacuating residents means not just getting them to safety without medical complications, but ensuring their 24-hour medical care and supervision continues wherever they land.

By Thursday afternoon, more than 35 facilities had been evacuated, according to the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Social Services. While some evacuees found placement in nearby care facilities and hotels, hundreds were transported to public evacuation shelters.

On Tuesday: Medical staff report supply issues and cot shortage

When nursing home evacuees began arriving at Pasadena Civic Center Tuesday evening, medical professionals assisting them told LAist there was a shortage of essential supplies including gloves, respirators, and incontinence products such as absorbent pads.

"We didn't have any PPE, so there were people with catheters, you know, diapers that need changing," said Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a professor at USC's Keck School of Medicine and local expert on geriatric care who was working at the site. "Their bags were getting full of urine, and they didn't have a way to empty it."

Many evacuees were still wearing ash-covered hospital gowns and some had no shoes or socks, she said. Mosqueda said there was a shortage of cots — which were initially given to evacuees on a first-come-first-served basis, rather than based on need.

Laura Mosqueda, professor at USC Keck School of Medicine, tends to an evacuated nursing home resident arriving by gurney at the Pasadena Civic Center. The man had serious health needs, including a gastrostomy tube.

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Aaron Schrank

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LAist

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Rachel Tate, a vice president of ombudsman services at the nonprofit Wise & Healthy Aging, showed up at the Pasadena Civic Center Tuesday night to assist and told LAist she saw similar problems.

“You had nursing home residents at risk for developing pressure ulcers because they were left sitting upright,” said Tate, who oversees the ombudsman program for long-term care facilities across all of L.A. County.

As the night wore on, rows of gurneys poured in. Tate said some residents at risk for falls were dropped off by ambulances and left in hallways unattended.

Pasadena officials operating the evacuation center at the Pasadena Civic Center told LAist the site is not equipped to provide care to the evacuees from nursing homes and assisted living facilities, but a lack of available beds in long-term care facilities throughout L.A. County left the city no choice.

“It was never intended to be a medical shelter, where we provide medical care to those that are being evacuated, but some unique conditions arose which required us to pivot,” said Manuel Carmona, acting director for the Pasadena Public Health Department. “And unfortunately, at that point in time, there were no resources available to provide the medical care that these individuals needed.”

Northwest Pasadena is home to a high concentration of long-term care facilities, which contributed to the logistical challenges, Carmona said.

On Wednesday: Coordination challenges

By Wednesday afternoon, more resources and staff had arrived at the Pasadena Civic Center and many residents had been transferred elsewhere. But a visit by an LAist reporter found scores of seniors still facing uncoordinated care.

We saw private EMTs continue to drop off displaced residents on gurneys, often without facility representatives accompanying them. Many required specialized medical attention, using wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, IVs, or gastrostomy tubes. Nurses from Pasadena's Public Health Department and volunteers stepped in to assess various health needs, triage resources and attempt to coordinate care or relocation.

Carmona said the city’s public health nurses went above and beyond to provide support to a population that, under normal circumstances, should never have been taken to a public evacuation shelter.

"We cared for them as best as possible with the resources available,” Carmona said.

Private ambulances lined up outside of Pasadena Civic Center, delivering displaced residents from nursing homes and assisted living facilities on Jan. 8, 2025.

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Aaron Schrank

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LAist

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The medical staff assigned to the evacuation center are equipped to address public health issues, but not to provide the intensive physical or mental care, he said.

Mosqueda and Tate praised the work of Pasadena’s public health team, but at the same time questioned if agencies could have better coordinated care for vulnerable seniors.

“We’re grateful that Pasadena Public Health stepped in to provide whatever public assistance they could,” Mosqueda said.

L.A. County’s Emergency Medical Services Agency is responsible for coordinating the evacuations of most nursing homes and assisted living facilities for fires across L.A. County, with support from local health officials and the California Department of Public Health — the state agency responsible for licensing nursing homes.

On Thursday: Nursing home evacuees transferred to medical facilities

As of Thursday morning, all evacuees from nursing homes in the Pasadena area had been transferred to appropriate medical facilities.

L.A. County's Department of Social Services was working to transfer remaining assisted living facility residents, according to Pasadena’s Department of Public Health.

What evacuation plans were in place?

State and federal laws require all residential facilities for older adults to have written plans for evacuation.

Carmona said those laws require nursing homes to identify facilities where they would transport their patients in the event of an evacuation.

“With limited bed availability throughout the region, they were not able to transfer to the designated facilities, which required them to redirect to the Pasadena evacuation shelter,” he said.

Advocates for nursing home residents said the disordered evacuation process shows the need for more system-wide emergency planning among L.A. County’s long-term care facilities.

“For years, advocates have been screaming from the rooftops that most of the facilities’ emergency plans are ‘We’re just going to call 911 and 911 is going to take care of it,’” said Tate with Wise and Healthy Aging. “We’ve raised the alarm with the county for years that there needs to be a more robust plan.”

The aftermath of an evacuation at a convenience store across from two Pasadena nursing homes.

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Sharon McNary

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LAist

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Full list of nursing homes evacuated by Eaton Fire

Media reports and eyewitnesses confirmed at least three nursing homes in Pasadena appear to have been destroyed by the fire: Pasadena Park Healthcare and Wellness Center, The Terraces at Park Marino, and Two Palms Care Center.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities evacuated (as of 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9):

NURSING HOMES:

Brighton Care Center (1836 N Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103):
84 residents evacuated

Camellia Gardens Care Center (1920 N Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103): 67 residents evacuated to Golden Legacy

Chester House (1115 N Chester Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104): Four residents evacuated to Brown House sister facility

Golden Rose Care Center (1899 N Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103): 71 residents evacuated to Golden Legacy

Monte Nido Residential Care Center (514 Live Oak Cir Dr., Calabasas, CA 91302): 5 residents evacuated to Monte Nido Vista

Montrose Springs SNF and Wellness Center (2635 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA 91020): 138 residents evacuated to various facilities

Pasadena Care Center (1640 N Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103): 60 residents evacuated to Greenfield Care Center

Pasadena Grove Health Center (1470 N Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103): 58 residents evacuated to multiple facilities

Pasadena Park Healthcare and Wellness Center (2585 E Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107): 94 residents evacuated to multiple facilities

Pinnacle Health Colman (672 Colman St., Altadena, CA 91001): Four residents evacuated to Pinnacle Health Maydee

Pinnacle Health Santa Anita (2135 Santa Anita Ave., Altadena CA. 91001): Three residents evacuated to Pinnacle Health Maydee

Stahl House (443 North Craig, Pasadena, CA 91107): Five residents evacuated to Wynn House

St. Vincent Healthcare (1810 N Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103): 70 residents evacuated to multiple locations

Two Palms Care Center (2637 E Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107): 45 residents evacuated

Villa Esperanza Wynn House (2116 E Villa St., Pasadena, CA 91107): Three residents evacuated to Brown House sister facility

ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES:

Ace Senior Care Manor (940 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena 91104): Five residents evacuated to Pasadena Civic Center

Alexander’s House Incorporated (1791 Navarro Ave., Pasadena 91103): Five residents evacuated to private residence

Bella Vista (1760 N Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena 91103): 70 residents evacuated to Pasadena Civic Center

Bonnie’s Guest House (135 N Bonnie Ave., Pasadena, 91106): 14 residents evacuated to Glendora Motel

Chelle’s Home (3234 Alameda St., Pasadena, 91107: Four residents evacuated to private residence

Easter Seals Southern California Eastlyn Residence (1299 Eastlyn Pl., Pasadena, 91104): Four residents evacuated to private residence

Easter Seals Southern California Orange Grove (1657 E Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, 91104): Four residents evacuated to private residence

El Molino Rose Villa (1144 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, 91104): Six residents evacuated to Sheraton Fairplex Suites & Conference Center in Pomona

Evolve Care, Inc (1708 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena, 91103): Four residents evacuated to Hilton San Gabriel

Fair Oaks Manor (1753 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, 91103): 15 residents evacuated to Abria Del Cielo assisted living facility in San Bernardino

JML Board & Care (191 East Washington Blvd., Pasadena, 91103): Four residents evacuated to private residence

The Kensington Sierra Madre (245 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, 91024): 100 residents evacuated to Sheraton Hotel Ontario

Lundy Family Care Home (964 N Summit Ave., Pasadena, 91103): Four residents evacuated to Worldmark Indio

Mentone House (1980 Mentone, Pasadena, 91103): Six residents evacuated to Bancroft House

New Beginnings Atchinson (403 Atchison St., Pasadena, 91104): Six residents evacuated to Fairfield Inn Buena Park

Pasadena Adult Living Center (1415 N Garfield Ave., Pasadena, 91104): 130 residents evacuated to Pasadena Convention Center

Pasadena Highlands (1575 E Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104): 240 residents evacuated to Pasadena Civic Center and other locations

Pasadena Villa Senior Living (1811 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 91103): 90 residents evacuated to Cedars Assisted Living Northridge

Royal Oaks (1763 Royal Oaks Dr., Duarte, 91010): 45 residents evacuated to Westminster Gardens retirement community in Duarte

Santa Barbara Guest Home (735 Santa Barbara, Pasadena, 91101): Six residents evacuated to Providence Christian College

The Terraces at Park Marino: (2587 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107): 95 residents evacuated

Fire resources and tips

If you have to evacuate

• Cheat sheet: Your very short guide to getting packed up right now to evacuate
• Cheat sheet: A very short guide for how to leave your house if you need to evacuate

If you have more time:

• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire burning near you

Things to consider

• Evacuation terms can be confusing. Here’s what they mean and how to sign up for alerts
• This is why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home

Navigating fire conditions

• Cheat sheet: Your very short guide to driving in high winds and fire danger
• High winds and fires mean power outages. Here's how to prep

How to help yourself and others

• Resources for SoCal fire victims, evacuees and first responders
• What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
• If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer

Understanding how it got this bad

• Yes, wildfires are getting worse. The history that got us to this moment