When 12 people died from extreme heat at a South Florida nursing home following Hurricane Irma, former Gov. Rick Scott ordered back-up power for air conditioning in all Florida nursing homes within 60 days.
Nearly two years later, 60% of the state’s nursing homes still have not implemented their plans to power AC units to keep homes under 82 degrees for four days.
Florida nursing homes are under a microscope as Hurricane Dorian looms in the Atlantic, posing a threat to the state.
After the deaths at The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he is placing nursing homes on emergency managers’ radar.
“After Irma, it was a high priority on my side even though it was the responsibility of those nursing homes to take care of themselves. We know a lot of them will not.”
Only 26% of the homes in Broward have finished implementing their back-up power, compared to 51% who have gotten the job done in Miami-Dade – better than the state average.
Regardless, Gimenez is stressing preparation as Dorian continues to churn toward the state.
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“We need to be able to make sure that if nursing homes find themselves in some kind of trouble, that we will help them as quickly as we can.”
