Governor Rick Scott announced today that the Florida Health Care Association, Florida Senior Living Association, LeadingAge Florida and the Florida Assisted Living Association have agreed to support the Governor’s rule to have emergency generators to power their air conditioning units during emergencies. These associations, which represent thousands of nursing homes and assisted living facilities (ALFs) in Florida, have worked with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) and the Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA) through the rule-making process and have agreed to drop their challenges against the agencies and work with their members to have emergency generators. Hundreds of nursing homes and ALFs in Florida have already agreed to follow the Governor’s rule and are working to install the necessary equipment. While the rule challenges against the currently proposed nursing home and assisted living facility generator rules have been dropped by all parties, these rules are still awaiting ratification by the Florida Legislature. The legislature must ratify these rules during the current legislative session.
Governor Scott said, “Following the tragic loss of life at the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center last year, I immediately ordered our state agencies to require each nursing home and ALF in Florida to have emergency generators to keep their residents safe during a disaster. My goal throughout this process was to ensure that every facility in Florida can provide a safe environment for its residents. These rules accomplish this important goal by having generators and fuel supply resources at every nursing home and ALF in Florida. This is a big win for our state and makes Florida one of the first states in the nation to require emergency generators at nursing homes and ALFs. The bottom line is that we fought for residents and they will be safer because of these rules. I look forward to the legislature ratifying these life-saving rules.”
AHCA Secretary Justin Senior said, “We have put together a rule that we believe can help save lives. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are homes for some of Florida’s most vulnerable populations, and these rules are vital to ensuring patient safety. We are glad that the hard work of Governor Scott and stakeholders will establish standards that will keep Florida’s vulnerable populations safe.”
DOEA Secretary Bragg said, “When Florida families make the decision to place their loved ones in long-term care facilities, they expect that they will be safe and well cared for at all times. Since September, our Department has been working to ensure the safety and welfare of Floridians in assisted living facilities during periods of prolonged power outage. We are glad that all parties were able to come together and create procedures that will ensure protection for these populations.”
Florida Health Care Association Executive Director Emmett Reed said, “The health and well-being of our state’s frail elders is our members’ number one priority. Our association has worked with Governor Scott, AHCA and DOEA since September on how our members can implement these important life-saving rules. We are glad that all stakeholders were able to come to the table, work together and agree to lasting policy that will keep residents and patients safe in Florida.”
Gail Matillo, President of the Florida Senior Living Association said, “Throughout this process, we have remained supportive of the Governor’s original intent – to ensure vulnerable Floridians are kept safe during emergency situations. We believe these rules will benefit both Florida seniors and the communities invested in providing them with quality living environments.”
Shad Haston, Chief Executive Officer of Florida Assisted Living Association said, “Our assisted living facilities are implanted in communities all over the state and ensuring resident safety has been a key issue since the storm this fall. Governor Scott was able to bring key stakeholders together, and work through the rules ensuring that facilities large and small will be able to implement them.”
Steve Bahmer, President and CEO of LeadingAge Florida said, “Ensuring the safety of Florida’s seniors has always been the primary goal of LeadingAge Florida and our members, and we appreciated the Governor’s leadership on this as Hurricane Irma moved through our state. The state has stayed in close contact with our association during the course of this process, and we support the implementation of these rules to ensure that Florida’s seniors are safe.”
With this agreement AHCA and DOEA have filed notice of change to the permanent nursing home and assisted living facility generator rules. The notice of change can be found here for nursing homes and here for assisted living facilities.
Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center
Senate Dems call for apology from GOP Senator defending nursing home at center of 14 deaths
Outraged by remarks made yesterday by Republican Senator Dennis Baxley suggesting that the deaths of 14 elderly patients at a South Florida nursing home following Hurricane Irma were somehow self-inflicted, Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon, on behalf of the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, demanded an apology.
“These men and women were entrusted to a nursing home that abandoned that responsibility and left them to die,” said Leader Braynon (D-Miami Gardens). “To say that death was imminent regardless of the actual facts that caused these fatalities not only diminishes the role this nursing home played, but the cascade of events that set the stage for such a calamity to happen. Senator Baxley owes the surviving families an immediate apology.”
At a meeting on Wednesday of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baxley stunned many lawmakers as well as members of the public when he deflected blame from the nursing home and inadequate policy to the elderly patients themselves.
“Look at the population,” he reportedly said. “You’re dealing with the 90-somethings. Some of these deaths would naturally occur, storm or no storm. Eventually everyone who was in that nursing home will die. But we don’t need to attribute those all to the storm and bad policy.”
The deaths at the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center are currently under criminal investigation. The nursing home, one of many statewide that lost power during Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida, did not have a functioning backup generator to maintain air conditioning in the sweltering heat. The catastrophic conditions led to 14 of the patients eventually succumbing following days of exposure to the intense heat. Eight of them died three days after the power loss; six of them died following their evacuation from the nursing home after authorities were summoned.
“If the fault lies with anyone, it begins with the Scott Administration that allowed bad actors in the nursing home industry to flourish with no effective regulatory oversight. It ends with a nursing home that ignored these helpless souls entrusted to their care,” said Leader Braynon. “Senator Baxley should know better, and he should be ashamed for refusing to place the blame where it actually belongs.”
Tip Line established in nursing home investigation
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Hollywood Police Department, along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, are investigating the patient deaths from the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center at 1200 N. 35th Avenue in Hollywood, Florida.
A tip line has been established and investigators are asking anyone with information about the deaths or the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center between the dates of 9/9/17 and 9/13/17, please call FDLE toll free at (866) 452-3461.
For Further Information Contact:
Miranda Grossman
Hollywood Police Department
Phone: 954-967-4279
Statement Regarding Claims By Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center
It is 100 percent the responsibility of health care professionals to preserve life by acting in the best interest of the health and well-being of their patients. Let’s be clear – this facility is located across the street from one of Florida’s largest hospitals, which never lost power and had fully operating facilities. The tragic and senseless loss at Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center is the subject of a criminal homicide investigation by law enforcement.
