Nursing home seeking records from prosecutors

Lawyers for the Hollywood nursing home that overheated after Hurricane Irma, leading to 14 deaths, asked a Broward judge on Tuesday to make prosecutors turn over documents that were seized as part of a criminal investigation.

Michael Gottlieb told Broward Circuit Judge Andrew Siegel that administrators for the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills need the documents to provide information to former patients and prepare themselves for upcoming lawsuits and hearings.

“We are not able to meet these obligations without access to our files,” said Gottlieb.

The Rehabilitation Center lost power during Hurricane Irma on Sept. 10, knocking out the air conditioning to the two-story facility.

Three days later, emergency workers were called to the center multiple times to deal with patients who were overcome by the heat.

Eight deaths were attributed to the heat Sept. 13. In the weeks that followed, six more were added to the toll.

Police announced a criminal investigation, and the center has been named in multiple lawsuits filed by family members of the victims.

Within days of the Sept. 13 evacuation of the Rehabilitation Center, the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration suspended the center’s operating license.

Gottlieb said the center is entitled to the documents seized for the criminal investigation as officials seek to have the license suspension lifted.

Patients who were transferred to other medical facilities and homes should be able to access the records to ensure the continuity of their care, he said.

Prosecutors said the documents are not public records and do not need to be turned over.

Assistant State Attorney David Schulson said investigators have an interest in preserving the potential evidence and the secrecy of the witness list until later in the investigation.

Siegel questioned whether the nursing home could obtain at least some of the records from other sources.

He indicated that he would issue a ruling before Oct. 24.