A woman has been arrested after police said she ran an illegal post-surgery recovery center out of a Miami hotel. NBC 6’s Kim Wynne reports
A woman has been arrested after police said she ran an illegal post-surgery recovery center out of a Miami hotel.
Jocelyn Ramos-Rivera, 51, was arrested Thursday on 42 counts of operating an assisted living facility without a license, an arrest report said.
Ramos-Rivera is accused of running the operation out of the Extended Stay America at 8655 Northwest 21st Terrace in Doral.
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According to the arrest report, on June 2, officers who were conducting surveillance at the hotel saw a Dodge Caravan arrive and watched as the driver assisted a woman inside.
"The passenger was walking cautiously and shuffling her feet which is indicative of post-operative cosmetic surgery behavior," the report said.
Detectives followed them into the hotel and to their floor before they identified themselves and asked the driver if there were any post-surgery patients being cared for.
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The driver admitted there were five total patients in three rooms of the hotel, the report said.
"All of the patients were in various stages of post-operative cosmetic surgery recovery," the report said.
The report said the patients were assisted with bathing, dressing, eating, using the bathroom, personal hygiene and medications.
The patients told detectives they were charged between $1,025 and $1,300 for personal care during their recovery.
Detectives spoke with Ramos-Rivera by phone and asked her to come to the hotel but she never showed up, the report said.
On Thursday, detectives went back to the hotel and met with a woman who said she was employed by Ramos-Rivera and admitted that there were four patients being cared for in two rooms of the hotel, the report said.
Detectives eventually found Ramos-Rivera and arrested her. She was booked into jail, and attorney information wasn't available.
In Florida, post-surgery recovery homes require a license to operate, and state law requires an assisted living facility to be a private home or other residential facility.
