After extreme heat killed 12 nursing home residents in Hollywood Hills, Fla., last year, the state’s governor gave all nursing homes in the state 60 days to connect air conditioning systems to back-up generators with enough fuel to keep residents in safe temperatures for four days, according to NBC 6.
By Nov. 15, 2017, no nursing home could satisfy the requirement, so the deadline was extended to June 2018. At that time, less than 10 percent met the requirements. Now, one year later, only one in four nursing homes statewide has met the requirement. No facilities have been fined or disciplined.
The state now has extended the deadline for nursing homes to implement their plans until Jan.1, 2019.
The Agency for Health Care Administration (ACHA) says it has granted every nursing home an extension because they’ve all claimed construction, equipment or regulatory delays. They’ve also promised to evacuate or have contracts with companies to provide emergency power within 24 hours of a state of emergency being declared in their areas.
"We recognize that this is an aggressive timeline for implementation, and our agency has seen a lot of progress from the facilities in working to implement these emergency rules," Justin Senior, AHCA secretary, said in a statement.
This Quick Read was submitted by Cathryn Jakicic, Healthcare Industries Editor, FacilitiesNet. For more about hospital campuses and other medical facilities, visit https://www.facilitiesnet.com/healthcarefacilities.
