BILLINGS — A Billings nurse is speaking out after she says ongoing bed bug and cockroach infestations at a downtown low-income apartment complex have reached a point where some caregivers are refusing to enter the building, leaving vulnerable residents without essential care.
Watch the story below:
Robert Case has lived at Sage Tower, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 apartment complex, for more than a decade. While he said the building is otherwise a decent place to live, persistent pest problems have made daily life increasingly difficult.
“It's an alright place, if they can get rid of the bedbugs and the cockroaches,” Case said.
Case said pest infestations have been an ongoing issue for years, even when treatments occur. He said his understanding is that the building is supposed to be sprayed monthly or every couple of months, but that does not always appear to happen consistently. When it does, he said, the relief is temporary.
"No matter how many times you spray it, it's just not doing what it's supposed to do," said Case.
MTN News previously reported resident concerns about bed bugs at Sage Tower in 2023. Case said that while bed bugs remain an issue in some apartments, cockroaches have become the more widespread problem in recent years. He said infestations in some units can spread throughout the building, even affecting residents who keep their apartments clean.
“The cockroaches, they kind of like they take over now, and never was like this about two years ago," said Case.
Case said that just a few days ago, he requested that his own apartment be sprayed again after store-bought pest control products failed to work. He said caregivers who provide in-home assistance to residents have also raised concerns.
“My caregiver, she was with this guy on the seventh floor in his room, and she says, 'I can't work with him no more because his place is so full of cockroaches,'” said Case.
Those concerns prompted nurse Vicki Zimmerer Scott to speak publicly. Scott works for a local home health company and said at least four to five caregivers she works with have refused to enter the building because of pest issues. She said the problem has been persistent during the four to five years she has worked with the company.
Scott said one incident in particular pushed her to speak out.
“The other day, one of our caregivers said that her client was standing next to her at the sink while she was washing his dishes … he said, 'Do you want me to stand here next to you so the cockroaches don't get you?'" said Scott. "I just thought that that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for me.”
Scott said she was told that the resident’s apartment had been treated for pests in December, but by January, the bugs had returned. She said caregivers have also reported seeing bites and itching on some clients’ arms.
“Nobody deserves to live like this,” Scott said. "I understand that some of these people will go out and get stuff out of the garbage cans … but they still don't deserve to have bugs that are not controllable.”
Scott said the issue extends beyond discomfort or inconvenience. When caregivers refuse to enter a building, residents who rely on daily assistance may go without care.
“That's the impact on the client is that they don't have a caregiver," said Scott. “The residents don't get the care unless somebody else is willing to go in there.”
For many residents, leaving is not a realistic option.
“I want to move out, but I don't have a place to really go right now," said Case.
Scott said she has raised concerns with management repeatedly over the years, calling at least once a year and more frequently in recent weeks.
"I've called various people before, gotten no responses, left messages,” she said. "These people don't have a voice, so I guess I'm going to be their voice here.”
RiverStone Health, Yellowstone County’s health department, told MTN News in an email that Sage Towers is private property and outside its jurisdiction to investigate. The department said the last formal complaint it received regarding the building was in July of last year and that a letter will be sent to the property owner when they receive complaints.
MTN News attempted to contact Tamarack Property Management, which owns the building, but did not receive a response in time.
"It's just it's really bad here. The cockroaches is the main part right now," said Case. "Nobody wants to listen to my opinions. They don't care. We're just a resident there.”
Despite the challenges, Scott said she will continue to speak up in hopes of a long-term solution and ensuring residents have a safe and clean place to live.
“They're human beings," said Scott. "I don't want anybody in trouble. I just want somebody to make sure these people don't have these bugs."
