An administrative law judge is siding with the state of Florida in its decision to revoke the license of the nursing home where 12 seniors died last year.
In a 94-page order issued Friday, Judge Mary Li Creasy noted what she called the many failures of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills during the three days following Hurricane Irma in September. That included storms knocking out the nursing home’s AC system, leading to 100-degree temps in parts of the facility, the News Service of Florida reported.
“Hollywood Hills’ actions violated the rights of numerous vulnerable and medically fragile residents, particularly those who resided on the second floor of its facility, by failing to provide a safe environment,” Creasy wrote. “The evidence clearly and convincingly demonstrates Hollywood Hills failed to properly monitor and hydrate its residents as temperatures continued to rise in the building, thus failing to provide appropriate health care and protective services.”
Creasy called Hollywood Hill’s attempts to deflect blame for the deaths to Gov. Rick Scott (R) and state emergency management officials “irrelevant.” The Scott administration suspended the 152-bed facility’s license last year, and then moved to revoke it, triggering this legal challenge. Creasy’s order will now go to the Agency for Health Care Administration for final action, the News Service of Florida noted.
