Title
A Resolution Of The City Commission Of The City Of Hollywood, Florida, Urging All Members Of The Florida Legislature To Support Senate Bill 896, Which Requires The Florida Public Service Commission To Ensure That Public Utilities Effectively Prioritize The Restoration Of Services To Certain Health Care Facilities In The Event Of Emergencies; Establishing An Office Of The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Within The Department Of Elderly Affairs To Administer The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program; Directing City Administration To Transmit A Copy Of This Resolution To The Broward League Of Cities, The Florida League Of Cities, The Broward County Legislative Delegation, The Palm Beach County League Of Cities, The Miami Dade County League Of Cities And Any Other Interested Parties; Providing For Conflicts; Providing For Severability; And Providing An Effective Date.
Body
Staff Recommends: Approval of the attached Resolution.
Explanation:
Fourteen frail and elderly residents of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills tragically died during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma as a result of power outages and lack of alternate power supplies. It was reported that the body temperature of the residents transported to Memorial Regional Hospital reached as high as 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
The City of Hollywood has several nursing homes and assisted living facilities within its municipal boundaries which lost power as a result of Hurricane Irma and did not have generators for air conditioners. Numerous other nursing homes across Florida had no electricity, and, most of those, had no generator capable of powering air conditioning.
On or about September 16, 2017, Governor Rick Scott directed Florida AHCA Secretary Justin Senior and Florida Department of Elder Affairs Secretary Jeffry Bragg to issue emergency rules to keep Floridians safe in health care facilities during emergencies. Pursuant to the emergency action, within sixty (60) days, all ALFs and nursing homes must obtain ample resources, including a generator and the appropriate amount of fuel, to sustain operations and maintain comfortable temperatures for at least ninety-six (96) hours following a power outage.
AHCA issued emergency rule 59AER17-1 titled: Nursing Home Emergency Power Plan. The Department of Elder Affairs issued a Notice of Emergency Rule No.: 58AER17-1, titled: Procedures Regarding Emergency Environmental Control for Assisted Living Facilities.
On November 14, 2017 Senator Gary M. Farmer, Jr. (Sponsor), filed Senate Bill 896 (“SB896”). SB 896, among other things, requires the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to conduct unannounced quality of care evaluations of certain health and long term care facilities and requires nursing homes to allow residents, and certain individuals on their behalf, to monitor the residents’ rooms through the use of electronic monitoring devices.
Recommended for inclusion on the agenda by:
Dr. Wazir Ishmael, City Manager
Mel Standley, Assistant City Manager of Public Safety
Chris O’Brien, Acting Chief of Police