Deerfield-News.com-Deerfield Beach,Fl-Update on the incident causing the deaths of eight senior citizens in Hollywood.Florida and it’s counties and cities must take a hard look at our Hurricane Irma post storm rescue procedures.The tragic deaths of 8 of seniors hopefully has all of our government agencies looking to be certain,all of our citizens especially seniors are not left to die as a result of no air conditioning and or dehydration.Deerfield-News.com has contacted the City of Deerfield Beach to see what exactly has been done or is being done in Deerfield Beach to make sure our seniors are safe.We need to get our act together I know and saw like many of us the best of the community come out in these troubling times.Did our government drop the ball on this one, was it FPL or was it both or was it the management company of the nursing home and or all three?
Coordination between our city ,county and state must be in lock step in who and how we restore electric to after the next hurricane. Absolutely having some sort of safeguard assuring that this does not happen again.Please I urge you to check on your elderly neighbors,their lives might depend on it.
MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Death Investigation Update #1
Date: September 13, 2017 Update as of 5:30 p.m.
Location: 1200 N. 35th Avenue, Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, FL – Eight patients from the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center at 1200 N. 35th Avenue in Hollywood, Florida are now confirmed dead. One of the patients died last night at the facility and was taken away by a funeral home.
Information on Deceased:
1. W/F, age 78
2. W/F, age 71
3. B/F, age 71
4. B/M, age 84
5. W/M age 92
6. W/M age 96
7. W/F, age 99
8. W/F, age 84
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Based on conditions inside the facility, the City of Hollywood Fire Rescue Department and Hollywood Police Department, with assistance from Memorial Healthcare System, initiated the complete evacuation of the facility this morning with 158 patients of the facility evacuated to area hospitals including Memorial Regional Hospital, Memorial Regional Hospital South, Memorial Hospital West, Memorial Hospital ,Pembroke, Memorial Hospital Miramar, Cleveland Clinic, Broward Health and Aventura Hospital.At 3:00 a.m. on September 13, 2017, Hollywood Fire Rescue crews responded to a call for a patient reported to be in cardiac arrest at the facility. The patient was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital.Firefighters were called back to the facility at 4:00 a.m. to transport a patient reported to be experiencing breathing problems. After the second call was completed, the Fire Lieutenant notified a Battalion Chief and called the Department of Children and Families to report concerns about the facility. Shortly thereafter, a third call for patient transport came in. Additional Fire Rescue crews were dispatched and began going through the facility. Memorial clinical staff also responded to the facility. A total of three patients were found deceased on the 2nd floor of the facility and several other patients in varying degrees of medical distress were transported. Additional rescue units were called in and the complete evacuation of the facility was ordered.As of 9:15 a.m. all patients from the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills had been removed from the center and were being triaged by paramedics and emergency medical staff from Memorial Regional Hospital.A second adjoining facility, Larkin Community Hospital Behavioral Health Services, relocated 18 additional patients. These are not medically compromised patients, but due to the condition of the adjacent facility were required to be evacuated.
The Hollywood Police Department is currently conducting a criminal investigation into this situation to determine the circumstances that led to the patient deaths. State investigators from the Florida Office of the Attorney General and the Agency for Health Care Administration have also been on scene. The initial investigation A/C units were being used in the facility, but the facility was excessively hot.Additionally, Hollywood Police officers conducted welfare checks on 42 Nursing Homes, Assisted Living crews responded to the Amazing Care, Inc. assisted living facility and transported 4 patients in their seventies as a precautionary measure to Memorial Regional Hospital for observation.
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