Nursing home staff of 245 let go

A nursing home in Hollywood, closed after 12 residents died in searing heat, has laid off its employees.

The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills notified the state that it laid off 245 people on Sept. 20.

Layoffs included 79 certified nursing assistants, 37 licensed practical nurses, 23 occupational or physical therapists, 18 registered nurses, 25 environmental or laundry workers, 10 administrative assistants, five doctors, and others who worked in activities, dietary aid, engineering and supplies.

The state shut down the nursing home after eight people died Sept. 13, overcome by heat after Hurricane Irma knocked out the air conditioning. The center was evacuated

that day, but four more people have died since. Hollywood police have begun a criminal investigation.

After the deaths, Gov. Rick Scott ordered the state Agency for Health Care Administration, which regulates nursing homes, to stop the home from taking on new residents. The agency later halted Medicaid payments and finally pulled The Rehabilitation Center’s license entirely.

The nursing home has sued over all three actions.

In its notification to the state, dated Sept. 27, the Rehabilitation Center said it has closed permanently. It said it could not provide earlier notice of the layoffs “due to unforeseen business circumstances that occurred after the impact of Hurricane Irma,” leading to the loss of its license and Medicaid payments, according to a letter from Carolina Pena, the center’s human resources director.

The notice to the state was provided under the Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notification Act of 1988, which is designed to protect workers and their families by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a plant closing or mass layoffs.

Scott has issued an emergency order calling on nursing homes to have generators to power air conditioning and at least four days of fuel. The industry trade group, the Florida Health Care Association, has pushed back on that requirement, saying it’s impossible to meet the November deadline.

On Wednesday, Scott called on the Constitution Revision Commission to propose state constitutional amendments and is meeting this year, to address elder care.