4 FL Nursing Home Workers Charged In Patient Deaths During Storm
HOLLYWOOD, FL — Saying the victims’ families have been “living an absolute nightmare,” the chief of a South Florida police department announced aggravated manslaughter charges on Tuesday against four nursing home employees, including the facility administrator and overnight nursing supervisor. The charges stem from the 2017 deaths of 12 Florida nursing home patients who died from sweltering conditions when the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills lost power during Hurricane Irma.
“This is a terrible tragedy that never should have happened,” Hollywood Police Chief Chris O’Brien told reporters at a news conference. “The families sitting here today should not have lost their loved one this way. They placed their trust in the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills, its medical and administrative staff. That trust was betrayed.” See also 12 Hurricane Irma Nursing Home Deaths Ruled Homicides
The chief said additional arrests are expected, though he did not say if the owner of the facility was a possible target of the investigation.
“I can tell you our investigation is going to take us where it takes us,” he said. “Nobody is going to be excluded from this investigation.”
Some 158 patients were evacuated from the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, many on stretchers or in wheelchairs in the days following the storm. The facility is 22 miles north of Miami and only a short walk from Memorial Regional Hospital. Hurricane Irma struck the Miami area on Sept. 10, 2017.
Facility administrator Jorge Carballo was charged with 12 counts of aggravated manslaughter, while night shift nursing supervisor Sergo Colin was charged with 12 counts of aggravated manslaughter.
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Licensed Practical Nurse Tamika Tory Miller was charged with six counts of aggravated manslaughter and three counts of tampering with evidence in connection with patient medical records while registered nurse Althia Kenesha Meggie was charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with patient medical records.
“The recovery of video evidence has proved instrumental in developing our probable cause in this case,” said Major Steven Bolger of the Hollywood Police Department who also spoke at the Fred Lippman Multi-Purpose Center, which is several miles away from the now-shuttered nursing home. “We believe that clearly illustrates that their action or inaction in that particular situation did not meet the scope of what was going on to assist those people.”
The facility operated for days without air conditioning and the rooms became stiflingly hot. Staff placed at least eight calls to 9-1-1 over a three-day period beginning on Sept. 11, one day after the hurricane passed through the Miami area.
Listen to the 9-1-1 calls below courtesy of the Hollywood Police Department:
Frantic staffers made one call on each of the first two days but then made a flurry of six calls in the early-morning hours of the third day. Each call corresponded to a different elderly resident who was gasping for air, in some cases even turning blue, according to recordings of the calls released by Hollywood police.
Only one staff member could be heard on the recordings even mentioning that the facility’s air-conditioning was not working properly, and none of the calls suggested a link among the mounting cases and stifling conditions.
“Post incident manipulation of medical records, altering of medical records … demonstrates some type of attempt to cover that up,” Bolger added.
Hollywood Hills has since closed and Florida became one of the first states in the nation to require emergency generators at facilities that care for the elderly as a result of the incident.
Two other former residents of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills also passed away around the time of the other deaths, but their deaths were found not to be related to the horrific conditions.
The families of victims filed into the press conference as a group but did not make themselves available for interviews. Hollywood police displayed photos of many of the victims at the news conference.
O’Brien said he met with family members to discuss the charges in an “emotional meeting” on Monday night ahead of the press conference.
“Regardless of their medical status at the time, these four individuals neglected their duties and failed to provide adequate care which ultimately resulted in the deaths of these 12 victims. It’s pretty simple why these patients or victims are no longer here with us and with their family members today.”
The police investigation was described as one of the most extensive in the city’s history with the examination of more than 1,000 pieces of evidence, 400 hours of video and 500 interviews. Police also seized 55 computers for forensic analysis.
O’Brien said the families wanted justice for their loved ones.
“They were looking forward to this day for quite some time,” he said.
The 12 victims include: