Florida's top health care regulator, in the aftermath of the nursing home deaths that followed Hurricane Irma, says the state will "aggressively" enforce new rules that require nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have generators.
Justin Senior, secretary of Agency for Health Care Administration, on Friday explained to nursing home officials about an emergency rule that will require the facilities to have backup power that can last up to four days.
Ten residents of the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills have died after living in sweltering heat following power outages after Irma.
Senior said that Irma's changing path showed that nursing homes could not easily evacuate someplace else. He says the state does not expect nursing homes to provide air-conditioning to their entire building but they must keep patients safe.
