The Florida nursing home where eight people after the facility was left without air conditioning for days after Hurricane Irma knocked out its power, was previously cited by the state for having generator and maintenance issues.
More than 100 people had to be evacuated from the Rehabilitation Center, in Hollywood Hills, on Wednesday morning after three residents were found dead at the facility. Another five died a short time later in the nearby Memorial Regional Hospital.
Authorities are still investigating the causes of death, which could be heat exhaustion in the elderly patients or carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.
The nursing home was being powered by back up generators while they waited for the local utility company to restore the main power after the hurricane, but staff revealed the generators were not being used to power the AC.
Now it’s been revealed that the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, which regulates nursing homes in the state, cited the facility for its generator just last year, Fox News reports.
The Rehabilitation Center, in Hollywood, (pictured)- the Florida nursing home where eight people after it was left without air conditioning for days following Hurricane Irma, was previously cited by the state for having generator and maintenance issues
Janice Connelly of Hollywood, sets up a makeshift memorial in memory of the senior citizens who died in the heat at The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills
Officials from the administration conducted an unannounced recertification survey in February 2016 and found The Rehabilitation Center ‘failed to maintain the emergency generator.’
According to the state report, ‘the facility was not able to produce any written documentation to substantiate the emergency generator,’ and could not provide any proof that plans for a permanent generator had been submitted.
The issue was ‘corrected’ in a follow up visit in April 2016.
The facility’s administrator, Jorge Carballo, confirmed the center had a generator ‘on standby’ for emergencies, in compliance with state regulations, as well as seven days of food, water, ice and other supplies.
He insists staff did everything they could for their residents, including setting up mobile fans, ensuring they were hydrated and checking on their health.
The center was ‘fully cooperating with all authorities and regulators to assess what went wrong and to ensure our other residents are cared for,’ he added.
More than 100 people had to be evacuated, many via stretcher (pictured) from the Rehabilitation Center, in Hollywood Hills, on Wednesday morning
The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills as patients are were evacuated after a loss of air conditioning due to Hurricane Irma on Wednesday
Authorities are still investigating the causes of death, which could be heat exhaustion in the elderly patients or carbon monoxide poisoning from generators (pictured: a patient is rolled out of the nursing home on a stretcher and taken to Memorial Regional Hospital)
The nursing home was being powered by back up generators while they waited for the local utility company to restore the main power after the hurricane, but staff revealed the generators were not being used to power the AC (people were evacuated from the Rehabilitation Center, in Hollywood, on Wednesday morning)
‘When the transformer powering the A/C went down, staff set up mobile cooling units and fans to cool the facility. Our staff continually checked on our residents’ well-being – our most important concern – to ensure they were hydrated and as comfortable as possible.’
The owner of the facility has not yet publicly commented on the deaths.
Police are now conducting a criminal investigation into the deaths.
Officials suspect heat may be to blame, but generators can also come with their own health risks.
Three people were found dead inside an Orlando home Tuesday from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning with a portable generator still running inside their home. Another person died in Daytona Beach on Wednesday from carbon monoxide poisoning from an electric generator.
Footage from the scene on Wednesday morning showed patients being rolled out of the nursing home on stretchers and taken to Memorial Regional Hospital.
Scenes outside the South Florida nursing home where eight people have died after the building lost power during Hurricane Irma
Fire crews and police were called out to the Rehabilitation Center in Hollywood Hills, Hollywood, Florida this morning (pictured is a fire truck outside the center)
Scenes outside a South Florida nursing home where eight people have died after the building’s power and AC went down during Hurricane Irma
A City of Hollywood spokesman added that many of the residents were found in critical condition, some with trouble breathing.
‘It’s a sad state of affairs,’ Hollywood Police Chief Tom Sanchez said in a press conference, covered by WSN-TV.
‘Right now the building has been sealed off. We’re conducting a criminal investigation inside. We believe at this time they may be related to the loss of power in the storm. We’re conducting a criminal investigation, not ruling anything out at this time.’
A search warrant for the property has since been granted but not executed.
‘We are looking into temperature inside the facility, the staffing inside the facility and all the conditions inside the facility in the hours leading up to this situation,’ Raelin Storey, Director of Public Affairs for the city of Hollywood, added.
Flora Mitchell (pictured) arrived at the home trying to find out what happened to her 58-year-old sister, Vonda Wilson, a stroke patient who lived there for about 10 years. She said she last heard from her sister two days ago and found out the air conditioning was not working
Photos of inside the nursing home show a fairly basic set up with shared bedrooms which could have become unbearably hot at the temperatures increased without AC
The eight victims have now been named as Bobby Owens, 84, Manuel Mario Medieta, 96, Miguel Antonio Franco, 92, Estella Hendricks, 71, Gail Nova, 71, Carolyn Eatherly, 78, Betty Hibbard, 84 and Albertina Vega, 99.
Some family members told WSVN they only learned about the tragic deaths on the news, and had no idea whether their own loves ones were ok.
‘Nobody told us nothing. We don’t know if she’s dead or what,’ Flora Mitchell said. ‘They should let the family know what happened to their family.’
Florida Gov. Rick Scott called the tragedy ‘unfathomable,’ as he promised to get to the bottom of the incident.
Rehabilitation Center, Airstron employee Dave Long said he’d been calling Florida Power & Light for days to fix a fuse which appeared to have popped out during the hurricane – but to no avail.
At least 18 people from Florida died after Hurricane Irma swept through the state while around half of Florida’s entire population were left without power.