Florida

Ninth Patient of Hollywood Nursing Home Dies Days After Evacuation

The ninth death comes on the same day Florida Gov. Rick Scott's office released a trove of documents detailing the events leading up to the nursing home tragedy

A ninth patient of The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died Tuesday, days after the power outage tragedy unfolded. The ninth victim was identified as Carlos Canal, 93, Hollywood police confirmed.

The ninth death comes on the same day Florida Gov. Rick Scott's office released a trove of documents detailing the events leading up to the deaths of the elderly victims. The documents include a timeline of the steps taken by the facility before and after the first patient died last week.

The governor's report emphasizes that the facility never reported its “patients were in dangerous conditions or that they needed to be evacuated.”

In a statement, Gov. Scott said no amount of finger pointing by the facility's management will hide the fact that it failed to protect its patients. The governor also stressed that those responsible "should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Days before Hurricane Irma, the state notified the facility to provide updates twice a day to an online database monitored by Florida health officials. The nursing home's administrator reported through the database that the facility was operational from Sept. 7-10, according to the report. In a timeline released by the rehab center, the air conditioning lost power on the night of Sept. 10, however officials said this was not reported to the state.  

On Sept. 11, the nursing home called the Florida Emergency Information Line to report issuses involving the air conditioning, but the state report says the facility did not mention the severity of the conditions of patients. Later that evening, a voicemail was left on the Governor's personal cell phone, according to the report. That evening, the state made a request to FPL to prioritize the nursing home. The facility was also advised to call 911 if they believed the patients' health and safety were at risk. 

From Sept. 11-12, the facility was in contact with the state regarding the power issues, but there was no indication that situation had become life-threatening, the state report says. The first patient was taken to the hospital in the early hours of Sept. 13. 

The nursing home's medical director told state officials a physician's assistant reported no major health issues during a walk-thru of the facility between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. the night before, the report says. The medical director added that the facility believed the temperature never peaked over 80 degrees. 

Two lawsuits have since been filed against the nursing home. 

A criminal investigation is underway. 

Contact Us