At least eight elderly people died in a sweltering South Florida nursing home after it apparently lost its air conditioning amid ongoing, widespread power outages related to Hurricane Irma. 
 
 The deaths, which prompted a criminal investigation Wednesday, were what many feared might happen after Irma knocked out power for millions of people in Florida, a state known for its omnipresent heat. Without the respite of air conditioning, the heat poses a particular threat to Florida’s large population of elderly residents, who are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses. 
 
 In Hollywood, Fla., where temperatures are forecast to reach the 90s through the end of the week, authorities were called early Wednesday to the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, a nursing home not far from Fort Lauderdale with a troubled history. 
 
 What they found was gruesome: Three people inside already were dead, while other patients were in “varying degrees of medical distress,” city officials said. At least five were pronounced dead later, while dozens of the home’s residents were spirited from the stifling building to local hospitals, including Memorial Regional Hospital just down the street. 
 
 [ After Irma, Florida prepares for days — and maybe weeks — without power ] 
 
 Those who died — five women and three men — were between the ages of 71 and 99. 
 
 “We believe at this time it may be related to the loss of power in the storm,” Tomas Sanchez, the Hollywood police chief, said at a news briefing Wednesday. “It’s a sad event.” 
 
 Police later said they are working to determine what caused the tragedy, but early indications pointed at the air conditioning in the facility. 
 
 “The initial investigation has determined that the facility’s air conditioning system was not fully functional,” Hollywood city officials said in a statement Wednesday evening. “Portable [air-conditioning] units were being used in the facility, but the facility was excessively hot.” 
 
 The first call came in to firefighters at 3 a.m. Wednesday, about a patient believed to be in cardiac arrest, officials said. Firefighters returned to the facility an hour later for a patient with breathing problems, and they then called a state agency with concerns about the facility. When a third call for help came in, more Hollywood Fire Rescue crews were dispatched, and they were joined by Memorial Regional Hospital staff. 
 
 “There was no air conditioning,” said Randy Katz, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at Memorial. “The temperatures, particularly on the second floor, were extremely hot.” 
 
 Ellie Pina, whose 96-year-old mother Mirelle is a resident at the center, said the facility had been running on generators since the power went out on Sunday while Hurricane Irma swept through Florida. Pina said she and others repeatedly called Florida Power and Light about the lack of electricity and were ignored. 
 
 “I told Florida Power and Light the generators were going to give up soon. And it happened,” said Pina, reciting her ticket number, which recorded her seeking help. “I told my husband people were going to die in there. And it happened.” 
 
 Florida Power and Light, which said Wednesday it serviced part of the facility, said it extended its sympathies to those who lost loved ones and was limited in what it could say because of the investigation. 
 
 Robert Gould, chief communications officer for Florida Power and Light, the state’s largest utility, said during a briefing Wednesday that Broward County did not list the Hollywood facility as critical infrastructure in a hurricane planning meeting earlier this year. Such locations are prioritized for power restoration after a storm because of the services they provide to vulnerable people. 
 
 [ Heat illness is the next big threat for millions without power in Florida ] 
 
 Broward County said in a statement Wednesday that it selected critical infrastructure based on a Florida Power and Light guidance document. Going by this document, the county said, nursing homes were deemed “non-critical.” 
 
 On Tuesday, the county said, the nursing home contacted Broward officials to say it had lost power, information the county said it reported to the power company. The nursing home reported later Tuesday that a tree was on a transformer, Broward said, information that was also relayed to the utility. 
 
 “Hollywood Hills, when asked if they had any medical needs or emergencies, did not request assistance or indicate any medical emergency existed,” Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said in the statement. 
 
 Pina said the nursing home’s staff set up portable air conditioners and put patients, clothed in as little as possible, in the hallways close to the cooling units. She was there Monday and Tuesday around noon and said it was extremely hot. 
 
 “They were trying to help the people,” she said of the staff, which she said kept calling the utility for help. Pina said she and others also called 911 and received no response. A spokeswoman for the Hollywood police declined to comment beyond a statement the city had released outlining what had happened at the nursing home. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, Pina said, she was told by a staffer that “the generators gave up.” 
 
 Pina said her mother is hospitalized but doing well. She is among the more than 150 patients taken from the facility to one of the hospitals in Memorial’s system. Katz said they were treated mainly for dehydration, respiratory issues including respiratory failure, heat exhaustion and high fevers. 
 
 “There’s no reason patients that age with chronic medical issues should be in a facility without air conditioning,” Katz said. 
 
 Federal requirements state that nursing homes must have written, detailed plans and procedures for emergencies and disasters such as severe weather. Kristen Knapp, spokeswoman for the Florida Health Care Association, said hundreds of facilities for the elderly have relied upon backup systems since Irma passed over the state Sunday. 
 
 “Throughout this whole process, we haven’t heard of any affected nursing homes operating without a generator,” Knapp wrote in an email. 
 
 [ After Irma, a once-lush gem in the U.S. Virgin Islands reduced to battered wasteland ] 
 
 While Hurricane Irma did not fulfill the most dire forecasts, the storm still managed to wreak enduring havoc across all of Florida. After lashing the state and parts of the Southeast with rain and wind, power outages remained as the chief concerns. Power companies had restored power to millions, but about 3.5 million power company customer accounts in Florida — or one in 3 statewide — still lacked electricity on Wednesday. Utilities have warned it could be days or weeks before the lights come back on in some places. 
 
 This presents a particular risk in Florida, where about 1 in 5 residents are 65 or older. People in that age range are more prone to heat-related health problems because they do not adjust as well as younger people to sudden shifts in temperature, are more likely to have chronic medical conditions and often take medications that impact the body’s ability to regulate its temperature, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 “The elderly and the young are more susceptible to getting dehydration from the heat,” said David Gifford, senior vice president of the American Health Care Association. “Keeping them well hydrated is important and keeping them as cool as possible.” 
 
 The Florida association, which represents more than 4 in 5 nursing homes in the state — it does not represent the Hollywood facility — said about 150 out of nearly 700 facilities in the state did not have full power services restored as of Wednesday. 
 
 “As with millions of other Floridians, our centers are coping with the loss of power and infrastructure in the communities that were most affected by the devastation,” the association said in a statement. 
 
 Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), a former hospital chief executive, called the situation at the Hollywood nursing home “unfathomable.” 
 
 “I am going to aggressively demand answers on how this tragic event took place,” Scott said in a statement. “Every facility that is charged with caring for patients must take every action and precaution to keep their patients safe — especially patients that are in poor health.” 
 
 Scott said he directed two state agencies — the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration — to work with local authorities on the investigation, and he warned that “if they find that anyone wasn’t acting in the best interests of their patients, we will hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” 
 
 According to Scott’s office, the facility had reported as recently as Tuesday afternoon that they had power and access to fans and spot coolers. 
 
 The facility’s administrator, Jorge Carballo, said in a statement sent to media outlets that the center had evacuated “due to a prolonged power failure to the transformer which powered the facility’s air conditioning system as a result of the hurricane.” Carballo did not respond to The Washington Post’s requests for comment. 
 
 The facility has a history of citations, and it is rated “below average” on the Medicare website. Federal records, court documents and state inspection reports show the facility’s owners and managers had lurched from one problem to another during the past decade, including a federal bankruptcy, allegations of fraud, complaints from residents and repeated documentation of poor care and unsafe conditions. 
 
 
 
 Brian Baker cuts up a fallen oak tree after Hurricane Irma passed through the area in Valrico, Fla. (Chris O’Meara/AP) 
 
 State inspectors last year found patients who had been left in their night gowns, facing televisions that had been turned off. Others were unshaven and had untrimmed nails, including a man with blackened, jagged nails who had scratched himself raw. 
 
 “The facility failed to ensure residents were treated with dignity with respect for their individuality and preferences,” the report found, saying inspectors observed a “failure to address residents in a respectful manner.” 
 
 State reports show violations were recorded on 23 visits to the facility since 2010, with the violations in several reports describing systemic mistreatment. Safety also was a repeated concern. Smoke alarms, emergency exits and the nursing home’s emergency generator were cited for deficiencies. 
 
 In February 2016, an inspector wrote that the facility failed to maintain its emergency generator to manufacturer and code requirements — and that it wasn’t the first time. More recently, in May, another state official who visited the facility wrote that he found no problems. “All previously cited Fire & Life Safety deficiencies were corrected” and no new deficiencies were found, he wrote. 
 
 Those who died at the nursing home in South Florida were part of a death toll that, while relatively low compared to other massive storms, has slowly climbed in recent days. 
 
 In Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, authorities have begun letting residents trickle in, though that region — where Irma made landfall early Sunday morning — was still assessing the storm’s toll. 
 
 “Contrary to reports, no comprehensive assessments have been done to accurately determine percentage of damage or dollar figures,” Monroe County said in a statement Wednesday. 
 
 Scott Unger in Key West, Fla., Leonard Shapiro in Fort Lauderdale, Lori Rozsa in Gainesville, Fla. and Wesley Lowery, Julie Tate and Alice Crites in Washington contributed to this report, which has been updated throughout the day. 
 
 1 of 71 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The Aftermath: Residents assess damage in the wake of Hurricane Irma View Photos The full extent of the damage caused by Irma, which destroyed homes and cut off power for many, is being determined. Caption The full extent of the damage caused by Irma, which destroyed homes and cut off power for many, is being determined. Spencer Platt Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. 
 
 Further reading: 
 
 As Florida recovers from Irma, Jacksonville has historic flooding — and might get more 
 
 Why the storm surge forecast for Irma wasn’t so bad, just incomplete 
 
 A Marriott rescue ship left stranded tourists behind because they weren’t guests of the hotel ||||| HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott directed the Agency for Health Care Administration to issue an emergency moratorium Wednesday for the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, where eight people died after an air-conditioning issue that forced evacuations from the nursing home. 
 
 All patients have been removed from the rehabilitation center, and the moratorium immediately prevents the facility from admitting any patients until the order is lifted. 
 
 The shutdown is necessary to protect the lives and the safety of frail elders, according to a news release from the AHCA. 
 
 Earlier in the day, Scott made it clear that he is demanding answers on the facility. He previously ordered the AHCA and the Department of Children and Families to investigate the facility. 
 
 It was shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday when paramedics and fire-rescue crews were called to the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills. 
 
 "The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills has evacuated this morning due to a prolonged power failure to the transformer which powered the facility's air conditioning system as a result of the hurricane," nursing home administrator Jorge Carballo said in a statement. 
 
 Hollywood police Chief Tomas Sanchez confirmed that eight people had died and 115 patients were evacuated from the center. 
 
 "We're conducting a criminal investigation into the deaths that occurred here," Sanchez said. 
 
 Several residents from the center could be seen sitting on wheelchairs outside the nursing home, next to the hospital. 
 
 An adjacent building, Larkin Community Hospital, was also evacuated. Eighteen patients there were relocated as a result of the investigation. 
 
 The victims who died have been identified as Bobby Owens, 84; Manuel Mario Medieta, 96; Miguel Antonio Franco, 92; Estella Hendricks, 71; Gail Nova, 71; Carolyn Eatherly, 78; Betty Hibbard, 84; and Albertina Vega, 99. 
 
 The causes of death have yet to be determined. 
 
 Carballo said three of the eight patients died at the facility and the others died at the hospital they were taken to. 
 
 "Facility administration is cooperating fully with relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances that led to this unfortunate and tragic outcome. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who were affected," Carballo said. 
 
 Local 10 News reporter Jenise Fernandez spoke to the man who has been trying to repair the AC. Airstron employee Dave Long said that a fuse needed to cool the AC unit popped out during Hurricane Irma and needs to be repaired. He said he's been calling Florida Power & Light for days to get it fixed. 
 
 "There's nothing we can do," Airstron employee Dave Long told Local 10 News. "We've been calling and calling." 
 
 "There's nothing we can do," Long said. "We've been calling and calling. ... It just doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and I can't do anything until we get that fuse popped back in." 
 
 Long described the ordeal as "frustrating." 
 
 He said it would only take about 30 minutes once the fuse is fixed for the AC to be restored. 
 
 "Well, I came here after the storm on Monday and we saw the fuse was out, but we called at that time and now it's, what, Wednesday, and the fuse is still out and I can't do anything," Long said. 
 
 All the patients were taken to area hospitals, including Memorial Regional Hospital. 
 
 "We don't have specific numbers on the conditions of each of the patients involved," city spokeswoman Raelin Storey said. 
 
 Dr. Randy Katz, the medical director at Memorial Regional Hospital, said his staff "quickly identified some issues inside of the facility." 
 
 "Most of the patients have been treated for respiratory distress, dehydration and heat-related issues," Katz said. 
 
 Katz said at least a dozen other patients were in emergency care. He said the death toll could rise. 
 
 Family members rushed to the hospitals after finding out where their loved ones were taken. 
 
 One woman who spoke to reporters said she had been calling FPL and the facility for days on behalf of her mother to find out when the AC would be restored. 
 
 "I kept calling," the woman said. "And I said, 'This is life-threatening.'" 
 
 The woman said helping restore nursing homes to their standard conditions should be a top priority after a hurricane. 
 
 Rob Gould, vice president and chief communications officer for FPL, said the utility company met with Broward County officials in March to identify "top-tier critical infrastructure" facilities in the event of a massive power outage. He said the nursing home was not identified as such. 
 
 Rob Gould, vice president and chief communications officer for FPL, says the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills was not listed as one of Broward County's top-tier critical infrastructure facilities. 
 
 "We do know that facilities such as Memorial Regional Hospital across the street, which was with power, is listed as a top-tier critical infrastructure facility," Gould said. 
 
 Gould said parts of the facility were energized by FPL. He said the tragedy points to the need to have a plan in place when it comes to emergency preparation. 
 
 "I am going to aggressively demand answers on how this tragic event took place," Scott said in a statement earlier Wednesday. "Although the details of these reported deaths are still under investigation, this situation is unfathomable." 
 
 Scott said if the investigation uncovers "that anyone wasn't acting in the best interests of their patients, we will hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law." 
 
 Numerous assisted living facilities were evaluated throughout South Florida after the incident, including the Bayview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Miami Beach, where more than 100 patients were evaluated. 
 
 The facility also did not have working AC, and the residents were all moved to other locations via buses and trolleys. 
 
 A city spokeswoman said in a news release that Hollywood police officers conducted welfare checks on 42 nursing homes, assisted living and critical care facilities throughout the day. 
 
 Memorial Healthcare Systems has established a hotline for families of the patients who were taken to its facilities for care. The number is 954-265-1074. 
 
 Copyright 2017 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. ||||| Eight Hollywood nursing home residents died Wednesday morning in a building left without air conditioning after Irma roared through South Florida, according to Hollywood police and the city. 
 
 The home is directly across from a hospital. 
 
 Hollywood police have begun a criminal investigation into the deaths at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, 1200 N. 35th Ave. while the Agency for Health Care Administration and Department of Children & Families have begun their own investigations. Hollywood Police Chief Tom Sanchez said precautionary checks would be done on Hollywood’s 42 other nursing homes. 
 
 The owner of the nursing home also is an officer of Larkin Community Hospital, a medical center with a troubled history. 
 
 Never miss a local story. Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access. SUBSCRIBE NOW 
 
 The Broward Medical Examiner’s office list of those who died while stating the cause of death has not been officially determined: Carolyn Eatherly, 78; Miguel Antonio Franco, 92; Estella Hendricks, 71; Betty Hibbard, 84; Manuel Mario Medieta, 96; Gail Nova, 71; Bobby Owens, 84; and Albertina Vega, 99. 
 
 Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared in a statement, “I’m going to aggressively demand answers on how this tragic event took place. Although the details of these reported deaths are still under investigation, this situation is unfathomable.” 
 
 Gov. Rick Scott: I Am Demanding Answers pic.twitter.com/EgxW9SrtjZ — Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) September 13, 2017 
 
 Another part of the release from Scott’s office stated: 
 
 “The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills is responsible for the safety of their patients. Department of Health officials have been in contact with Larkin Community Hospital Behavioral Health Services management and the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills over the past three days. Hospital administrators were advised to call 911 if they had any reason to believe that the health or safety of patients was at risk. 
 
 Tuesday afternoon, the center reported to AHCA that it had power and access to fans and spot coolers provided by Memorial Healthcare.” 
 
 Like many places in South Florida, the nursing home has been without power since being whipped by tropical storm-force winds with hurricane gusts on the edge of Hurricane Irma. The Florida Health Care Association said Wednesday 150 of 700 nusring home facilities around the state didn’t have full power. 
 
 Miami’s Mike Carvelli, whose mother is at The Rehabilitation Center, said his brother was there earlier this week and found it “a little warm, but not uncomfortable” and there were portable air conditioning units in use. Kitchen worker Jean Lindor said the center had power from a generator to cook meals, but no air conditioning. 
 
 With the assistance of Memorial Healthcare — Memorial Regional Hospital sits across the street — officers and firefighters evacuated 115 people from the center. Concerned family members can call 954-265-3000 to check on their relatives. 
 
 Flora Mitchell, a 61-year-old Hollywood resident, came down to the center to find her sister around noon Wednesday. Sweat dripping from her forehead, she said she’d been trying to get information from first responders to no avail. She said her 58-year-old sister, who can’t talk or walk, has been there 10 years. 
 
 “I don’t know if my sister is living,” Mitchell said. “Nobody’s telling us nothing.” 
 
 Carvelli found staff members proactive after they evacuated his mother. Carvelli said the staff got him and his brother on a conference call to go over the medications and care for her Alzeimer’s. 
 
 “This is an inexcusable tragedy that frail patients would die of heat exhaustion without it being recognized and taking them to the hospital next door,” read a statement from U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. “I have spoken with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to get to the bottom of this. We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep our seniors safe during this difficult time.” 
 
 Three of Wednesday’s eight deaths occurred at the nursing home. Hollywood Fire Rescue responded at 3 a.m. to a call about someone having a heart attack at 3 a.m.. They were back at 4 a.m. to transport a patient with breathing problems, the city of Hollywood stated in a Wednesday evening release. 
 
 “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,” the release stated. “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 second floor of the facility and several other patients in varying degrees of medical distress were transported.” 
 
 Sanchez said, “It’s extremely hot on the second floor of the facility.” 
 
 The National Weather Service’s tracking in Hollywood put the temperature at 80 to 82 degrees overnight with a heat index of 85 to 90 after a Tuesday afternoon high temperature of 90 and a peak heat index of 99. 
 
 The center and its owners have been cited previously for substandard or fraudulent operations. 
 
 At least one lawsuit alleging negligence by the Rehabilitation Center is pending. The 2016 suit alleges “the staff and employees failed to develop a proper care plan and properly monitor and supervise the care and treatment provided to Lillian Fuller in order to prevent her from suffering the development and deterioration of infections and sepsis and suffering the development and deterioration of dehydration.” 
 
 Fuller, 71, no longer lives at the center. 
 
 The state corporate registration for the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, LLC lists South Miami Dr. Jack Michel — the president, director and agent of Larkin Community Hospital — as the company’s manager. 
 
 While a nursing home has been at that location nearly 50 years, the Rehabilitation Center’s name and registration are only two years old. Larkin bought what was then called Hollywood Hills Nursing Home and Hollywood Pavilion Hospital in a 2015 bankruptcy auction after fallout from Medicare fraud convictions sunk both facilities. 
 
 This article will be updated as more information is available.
– The death toll has risen, and may continue to rise, at a Florida nursing home that lost air conditioning as a result of Hurricane Irma. Two more patients died in hospitals following the evacuation of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, bringing the total number of dead to eight. Three patients died at the facility earlier Wednesday, while three others died in hospitals. The deceased ranged in age from 71 to 99 and their causes of death are not yet clear. But the medical director at a hospital across the street from the facility, where evacuees were taken, says most were treated for "respiratory distress, dehydration, and heat-related issues," per Local 10. He adds at least 12 other patients are in emergency care. The Rehabilitation Center has been barred from admitting patients as agencies investigate. Hollywood police are also conducting a criminal investigation. The facility has previously faced issues regarding care and safety and a pending lawsuit claims employees "failed to properly monitor and supervise the care and treatment" of a patient who suffered infections, sepsis, and dehydration, report the Washington Post and Miami Herald. A man who'd been trying to fix the facility's AC unit, however, says Florida Power & Light could be at fault. Despite repeated calls to the company to repair a fuse, no one showed up, he tells Local 10. Florida Power & Light counters that the Rehabilitation Center wasn't on Broward County's list of critical infrastructure.