Florida Nursing Home Death Toll Rises To 8

HOLLYWOOD, FL — Two more patients at a sweltering nursing home in Hollywood, Florida have died, bringing the total up to eight, police said.

More than 100 residents were evacuated Wednesday morning from the nursing home, which had no power or air conditioning, officials said. The deaths were reported at Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills in the 1200 block of North 35th Avenue, which a Florida Power & Light official said was not named as a priority facility by the county ahead of Hurricane Irma.

A release from the city said three patients were found dead in the facility early Wednesday and others were taken to a hospital and declared dead there.

Investigators believe the deaths were heat-related, Hollywood Police Chief Tom Sanchez said. The building has been sealed off for a criminal investigation, he said. Sanchez wouldn't say whether a generator was running inside. (For more information about the recovery from Hurricane Irma, subscribe for free to the Aventura Patch and receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you're outside of Aventura, find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"It's a sad state of affairs," Sanchez said. "We all have elderly people in facilities, and we all know we depend on those people in those facilities to care for a vulnerable elderly population."

Exactly how the deaths happened remains under investigation. Sanchez said authorities have not ruled anything out, including carbon monoxide poisoning from generators. He also said investigators will look into how many windows were open in the nursing home.

Watch: 8 Die At A Florida Nursing Home In The Wake Of Irma

Rob Gould of Florida Power & Light told WPGL that the nursing home was not listed by Broward County among the county’s top-tier critical infrastructure.

“We meet with the county and every county well in advance of hurricane season. In this case we met with Broward County in early March,” Gould said. “This facility was not listed as a top critical infrastructure — top-tier critical infrastructure facility. That’s what we work with the counties, for them to help identify those facilities.”

Jean Lindor, a kitchen worker, said through a Haitian Creole translator that the air conditioner had not been working and it was hot inside.

Paulburn Bogle, a member of the housekeeping staff, said the place was hot but manageable the past few days. Staff used fans, cold towels and ice to cool patients and gave them cold drinks.

Gov. Rick Scott tweeted a statement saying he was "heartbroken" after learning of the deaths.

"I am going to aggressively demand answers on how this tragic event took place," he said. "Although the details of these reported deaths are still under investigation, this situation is unfathomable."

Scott said he instructed the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Children and Families to work with local authorities in investigating the deaths.

Gov. Rick Scott: I Am Demanding Answers pic.twitter.com/EgxW9SrtjZ
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) September 13, 2017

Broward County Mayor Mayor Barbara Sharief said officials Tuesday asked Florida Power & Light to give priority to nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and any senior-related facilities as crews work to restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Firefighters and police began evacuating residents shortly after 7:30 a.m. A Broward County fire official said residents are being taken to “appropriate” facilities.

The first victim “supposedly was without electricity for a few days,” police spokeswoman Miranda Grossman told the Sun-Sentinel.

Sanchez, of the Hollywood Police Department, said he dispatched officers to check each of the city’s 42 nursing homes and assisted-living facilities for hurricane-related issues.

The nursing home is next to Memorial Regional Hospital, where some of the residents were taken. An adjacent building, Larkin Community Hospital, was also being evacuated. An air conditioning repairman told WPLG that he has called Florida Power & Light for days to get the utility to replace a fuse needed to restore air conditioning to the nursing home but has received no response.

On Wednesday morning, the utility's website said that 317,210 customers in Broward County are without power.

The rehab center said in a statement to NBC6 that Irma caused a prolonged power failure to a transformer, which powered the facility's air conditioning system.

"Unfortunately, early this morning several patients experienced distress and there were 3 fatalities," said Administrator Jorge Carballo.

Carballo said the facility is cooperating with authorities.

Breaking: Statement from rehab center where 5 people died early this morning @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/BHjPFqEjQB
— Sheli Muniz (@SheliNBC6) September 13, 2017

Patch will update this breaking news story.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Screenshot of Google Maps