A ninth nursing home patient died on Tuesday, nearly a week after the evacuation of the Florida facility that Hurricane Irma left without power and air conditioning.
Hollywood Police Department spokesman Miranda Grossman said in a news release that 93-year-old Carlos Canal, who had been a patient at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, died Tuesday while in hospice care.
Canal died just two months before his 94th birthday in November. Facility staff started calling 911 on September 12, three days after Irma hit.
Carlos Canal, 93, became the ninth nursing home patient to die on Tuesday, nearly a week after the evacuation of the Florida facility that Hurricane Irma left without power and air conditioning. First responders transport patients to safety from the nursing home last week
Rehabilitation Center staff started calling 911 on September 12, three days after Irma hit. But eight people died – their ages ranging from 71 to 99 – and 145 patients had to be moved out of the facility. Pictured are Bobby Owens, 84, and Gail Nova, 71, who both died last week
Carolyn Eatherly (left), 78, died last week after going three days without air conditioning that made rooms at the center stiflingly hot. Eatherly’s surviving family filed a lawsuit this week accusing the nursing home’s and staff of failing to evacuate the facility after the AC crashed
Betty Hibbard (left), 84 and 99-year-old Albertina Vega (right) also died last week. Three residents were confirmed dead at the facility while two others died a short time after being rushed to a hospital. It’s unclear if Hibbard and Vega died at the facility or at the hospital
By the next morning, rescue officials realized how bad the situation was at the nursing home, which had operated for days without air conditioning and made the rooms stiflingly hot.
Eight people died – their ages ranging from 71 to 99 – and 145 patients had to be moved out of the facility, many of them on stretchers or in wheelchairs.
The victims include Bobby Owens, 84, Manuel Mario Mendieta, 96, Miguel Antonio Franco, 92, Estella Hendricks, 71, Gail Nova, 71, Carolyn Eatherly, 78, Betty Hibbard, 84 and Albertina Vega, 99.
Three residents were confirmed dead at the facility while two others died a short time after being rushed to the nearby Memorial Regional Hospital for treatment.
Another three were pronounced dead later that day.
Earlier this week, shocking footage emerged of an elderly woman slumped naked over a hospital bed in the sweltering nursing home.
Cellphone video showed the woman sitting naked in a corridor with her head down at the Rehabilitation Center on September 12.
The facility’s air conditioning went out on September 10 when a tree fell on a transformer, leading to nightmarish conditions that last for several days until the evacuation.
Shocking footage emerged earlier this week of an elderly woman slumped naked over a hospital bed (above) at the Rehabilitation Center last Tuesday
Gabriel and Libia Giraldo were seen in the sweltering heat at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills being cooled by a box fan and an open window
The facility was being cooled by fans and partially open windows before they were finally evacuated
The video, shot by a family member, shows married couple Gabriel and Libia Giraldo, both 89, sweltering in their room.
It shows the room being cooled by a simple box fan and a partially cracked window with the curtain pushed back. A family member told CNN the couple was recovering from medical treatment.
The person filming then moved into the hallway to show the naked woman in her hospital bed. An industrial-sized fan was being used to cool the hallways.
The woman’s condition is not yet known.
Florida Governor Rick Scott ordered an emergency moratorium last Wednesday to stop the center from admitting new patients.
The city of Hollywood, Florida, said in a statement: ‘The initial investigation has determined that the facility’s air conditioning system was not fully functional.
‘Portable A/C units were being used in the facility, but the facility was excessively hot.’
Authorities launched a criminal investigation to figure out what went wrong and who, if anyone, was to blame. Pictured is the outside of the center where residents suffered from stifling heat
Several lawsuits have been filed within the last week by surviving family members of the deceased residents and residents who survived the devastating conditions. Messages (pictured) were left outside the center along with roses, candles and balloons
The center does appear to have had a back-up generator, according to a Rehabilitation Center employee.
Jean Lindor, who worked in the kitchens, told the Miami Herald that the generator allowed staff to cook but was not used to provide the facility with AC.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation to figure out what went wrong and who, if anyone, was to blame.
Rosa Cabrera, a 94-year-old woman living at the Florida nursing home, filed a lawsuit against the center on Friday, claiming it showed ‘negligence and reckless indifference’ toward its elderly residents.
And two more were filed this week on behalf of Mendieta’s and Eatherly’s surviving family.
The families are accusing the nursing home’s administrators and staff of failing to evacuate the facility after the AC crashed and the temperature spiked.