Florida Nursing Homes Request More Time to Meet Requirements for Backup Generators

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) July 08, 2019 – More than 40 percent of Florida’s nursing home facilities are asking state regulators for more time to meet the enacted changes to regulations requiring nursing homes to have proper and adequate backup power supplies when needed in emergencies. A review of documents filed with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) by the News Service of Florida has found that 305 nursing homes have requested variances requesting extra time to comply with the new requirements of having backup generations and a 72 hour supply of fuel that can create “cool zones” in designated areas of the facilities.

It was further reported that 184 nursing homes (27 percent of the licensed nursing homes in the state) have certified with the AHCA that they have made the necessary changes to their backup power equipment and are complying with the new regulations.

The new legislation was pushed by Governor Rick Scott after residents of a Broward County nursing home died when the nursing home lost its power and air-conditioning system after Hurricane Irma. The deaths of 12 residents at the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills in September of 2017 was caused by Hurricane Irma knocking out electricity and the center’s air conditioning system. The residents died due to the sweltering heat and having no air conditioning or backup generators that could run the air conditioners. The 12 deaths were later classified by the Broward County Medical Examiner as homicides. Several wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the facility.

Tampa Bay area nursing home negligence attorney Robert Joyce said, “These new regulations are absolutely necessary and the nursing homes that are failing to comply are putting the safety of their residents at risk. If the nursing homes had prepared for this kind of emergency in the first place, then these deaths would have been totally preventable.”

Learn more at http://www.joyceandreyespa.com Joyce and Reyes Law Firm, P.A. 307 S Hyde Park Ave Tampa, FL 33606 Call: 813.251.2007