Florida Charges Pending In 12 Nursing Home Deaths

HOLLYWOOD, FL — Charges were pending Monday in 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, according to the Hollywood Police Department.

Some 158 patients were evacuated from the now shuddered facility, 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.

"The Hollywood Police Department will announce charges stemming from the department’s criminal investigation into the deaths of 12 patients at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills following Hurricane Irma," the agency's Miranda Grossman said on Monday.

The charges were to be announced at a press conference planned for 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Fred Lippman Multi-Purpose Center. Hollywood Police Chief Chris O’Brien was expected to make the announcement.

The facility operated for days without air-conditioning and the rooms became stiflingly hot. Staff dialed 9-1-1 on Sept. 12.

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 Hill also passed away around the time of the other deaths but their deaths were found not to be related to the horrific conditions.

Here is the list of the 12 victims:

1. Carolyn Eatherly, DOB 8-13-39
2. Gail Nova, DOB 2-22-46
3. Estella Hendricks, DOB1-4-46
4. Bobby Owens, DOB 5-16-33
5. Miguel Franco, DOB 9-5-25
6. Manuel Mendieta, DOB 8-26-21
7. Albertina Vega, DOB 10-10-17
8. Betty Hibbard, DOB 1-11-33
9. Carlos Canal, DOB 11-4-23
10. Martha Murray, DOB 1-10-23
11. Alice Thomas, DOB 2-27-23
12. Dolores Biamonte, DOB 2-25-60