The stories coming out of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills continue to paint a grim picture of the days the residents went without power and air conditioning.
After three days of suffering in the dangerously hot facility, it only took workers from Florida Power & Light 15 minutes to fix the problem once they arrived on site.
According to Memorial Regional Hospital, one of the patients brought in early in the morning on September 13 registered a temperature of 109.9 °F after she died seven minutes after arriving at the hospital. The state found that nursing home staff gave her Tylenol and oxygen several hours earlier after noting that she appeared flushed and had a temperature of 101 °F.
Another patient’s temperature was registered at 108.3 °F when she arrived at the hospital at 4:33 a.m. However, nursing home staff marked down that her temperature was 101.6 °F when they took her temperature at 4:42 a.m. – nine minutes after she was admitted to the hospital. She died half an hour later.
The facility’s operating license was suspended through an emergency order.
“It’s extremely disturbing that the facility made a late entry claiming the temperature of 101.6, when the resident was already dying at the hospital with a temperature of 108.3,” the Agency for Health Care Administration said in the emergency license suspension order.
The nursing home recently filed a lawsuit earlier this week in an attempt to reopen the facility, denying any wrongdoing. The Hollywood Police Department is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the events, and Florida Governor Rick Scott has vowed to take aggressive measures to find the answers the family of the deceased deserve.
Schlesinger Law Offices is dedicated to fighting for the rights of nursing home abuse and neglect victims. Contact our office today to get started on your case!