TALLAHASSEE, Fla. _ After a dozen residents at a Hollywood nursing home slowly sweltered to death after Hurricane Irma knocked out power and air conditioning, Florida officials said they would prevent it from happening again.
The Florida Legislature followed up by passing rules requiring backup power for cooling for at least 96 hours at all of the state's 685 nursing homes and 3,101 assisted-living facilities. The new rules went into effect Friday.
But only 48 nursing homes and 91 assisted-living facilities have reported they have installed equipment and had state site inspections as of May 25, according to the Agency of Health Care Administration, which is in charge of tracking and enforcing the new rule.
348 nursing homes and 343 assisted-living facilities _ have requested extensions to give them more time to install equipment and have it inspected to meet the rules. But the 567 facilities whose requests for extensions have been approved, while technically in "compliance," have until Jan. 1, 2019, to meet the requirements, meaning many facilities may not have the mandated backup power for cooling for this hurricane season.
So the nightmare scenario could happen again.
"It is AHCA's expectation that all assisted-living facilities and nursing homes are actively planning for hurricane season and complying with the new rules put in place to protect the vulnerable population they serve," said agency spokeswoman Mallory McManus in a statement. "If a facility has not documented compliance with the June 1 deadline, the agency will issue a notice of violation, which can lead to fines and other penalties."
The state, which has updated individual nursing home records online with emergency generator status, intends to make aggregate reports available online starting next week. But it will still conduct physical checks well into hurricane season, as many facilities await site inspection by the agency or by state fire marshals.
Though long-term-care facilities' plans are being reviewed by local emergency management agencies and the state, local offices are also behind, according to the agency's data. Local emergency management agencies have approved only 319 nursing homes plans and 778 assisted-living plans as of May 25.
Facilities had until the end of the day Friday to submit paperwork indicating they are obeying the rule.
McManus said the agency is processing the remaining extension requests as quickly as possible and that it will begin conducting more site visits 1 to facilities that have implemented their plans but have not yet been inspected. The agency had said in April that an inspection by its Office of Plans and Construction would be required before a nursing home would be considered in compliance with the rule.
McManus declined to say when the Office of Plans and Construction intends to complete its site visits, saying they are "not scheduled and not announced."
Gov. Rick Scott first directed the state to issue emergency rules requiring generators in long-term care facilities in the weeks after the 12 people at Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills died. Those deaths are part of a criminal investigation into the nursing home. After months of legal disputes between the state and industry groups that resisted the requirements, the Legislature passed compromise rules in March. The rules _ which required ratification by the Legislature because of the high cost incurred _ require those facilities to submit a safety plan verifying they have installed a working generator or alternate power source that can supply electricity for 96 hours.
Even if facilities have complied with the new emergency power rules, they could be waiting long into hurricane season for physical checks of their generators. According to data provided by the state, only 68 nursing homes have been surveyed and approved by the agency's Office of Plans and Construction. State fire marshals, who are also authorized under the rules to assist in inspections, have approved 96 assisted-living facilities as of May 25.
