Poor leadership and disastrous decision-making are to blame for Florida ’s nursing home deaths

An eleventh nursing home resident has died after an air conditioning failure following last week’s Hurricane Irma. The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, located outside of Fort Lauderdale, was one of 160 nursing homes that had no electricity and no air conditioning, as power lines across the state were decimated by the storm. Yet, it was the only nursing home facility in the state of Florida where multiple deaths occurred as a result of power loss. Overcome by heat as temperatures swelled, residents were forced to remain inside the facility for three days, despite being located directly across the street from the air-conditioned Regional Memorial Hospital. Body temperatures creeped upwards of 110 degrees by the time they were rescued by firemen and rushed to the hospital just steps away. Representatives from the nursing home say they requested help from state and county officials, as well as the power company, but their calls went unanswered. Still, the electrical failure was surely foreseeable, as the entire peninsula had been declared a state of emergency. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Geriatrics Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs