text: 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. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| 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. 
   
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   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.
target: – Six people died after losing air conditioning at a Florida nursing home whose power was knocked out by Hurricane Irma, Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief confirmed in a press conference Wednesday. Sharief said three people died at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills and two more were declared dead at a hospital, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. A sixth death was announced in a press release later Wednesday morning. It may have all been due to extreme temperatures at the facility, though the causes of death haven't yet been officially determined. A police rep simply said "a number of people" were "in respiratory distress" at the facility; 115 people were evacuated from it. More on the deaths and other Irma-related news: Hollywood Police Chief Tom Sanchez says precautionary checks are being performed at the other nursing homes in the area, the Miami Herald reports. Sanchez says a criminal investigation into the deaths has been opened. The Airstron employee who had been trying to fix the AC unit tells Local 10 that a fuse needed to cool the unit popped out during the hurricane. He says he's been trying to repair the facility's unit for days, but Florida Power & Light (FPL) has yet to fix the fuse for him despite his phone calls. The Washington Post reports a rep for FPL noted the county didn't designate the facility as "top critical"—meaning a place given priority attention—during a 2017 hurricane planning meeting. The Post separately reported that as of Wednesday morning some 40% of the state was still without power, and that some may not see it for as long as weeks. The mayor of Naples, Fla., put it bluntly: "The biggest issue is power. It’s 92 degrees and the sun is out and it’s smoking out there.” FPL's best estimate at this point for when power will be restored to those along the state's west coast: Sept. 22. Carbon monoxide is also an issue in the wake of the storm: The Los Angeles Times reports that at least five people have died and more than a dozen others have been treated after breathing carbon monoxide fumes from generators.