Can nursing homes survive disasters?
Legislators vowed Thursday to prevent another tragedy like the Hollywood Hills nursing home deaths following an air-conditioning outage that overheated the facility.
“Any loss of life is tragic, but it is worse when death can be avoided,” said U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, who organized a congressional field hearing at Miami-Dade College in the wake of the 14 deaths.
Wilson was joined by U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, and U.S. Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr., of Georgia.
Local leaders, including Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, and experts in emergency management, fire-rescue services, public health and aging were also present. Officials sought feedback that would help craft legislation to protect the most vulnerable of citizens.
Wilson said she proposed a federal bill that would require nursing home and longterm care facilities to have generators or a backup power supply. Grants or small loans could be part of the plan to help facilities with the expense, she said.
The estimated price tag for generators for nursing homes across Florida: $240 million, said Frankel, who said she got the figure from state officials.
Frankel and Holness warned against “unintended consequences” that could put nursing homes out of business.