FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Memorial Regional Hospital nurses who responded to the scene of a Fort Lauderdale nursing home where 12 patients lost their lives due to a loss of power from Hurricane Irma testified in court, Tuesday.
The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills is hoping they can keep their business and not have their license revoked, but that will be up to a judge.
In court Tuesday, nurses from Memorial Regional Hospital, which is located near the nursing home, testified on the poor conditions inside.
The facility lost power on Sept. 13, 2017, after Hurricane Irma blew through South Florida and patients were left in the heat for several days. Nurses who responded to the scene to help described the chaos.
“They’re dropping like flies, like, ‘Hurry up, we got to get these people out of here,'” said director of nursing at Memorial Regional Hospital, Tracy Metzer.
The patients at the rehab center were later evacuated.
There was very little to no air conditioning at the facility. Metzer said that when she went to the second floor, she felt a blast of heat.
“Then I went into a room and found two gentlemen dead in their beds,” she said.
The state agency for healthcare wants the nursing home’s license revoked to prove that facility officials were negligent.
“At the time, going in and turning down the hallway, I smelled urine, feces, very strong odors,” said Joe DiMaggio director of emergency services Doug Lamendola.
Metzer classified the scene as a mass casualty incident. “All of the patients that I saw and assessed were in distress,” she said. “It was an extreme situation with people already in distress, and I felt that they needed medical attention to avoid further deaths.”
Attorneys for Hollywood Hills have not presented their case yet.
On Wednesday, emergency personnel and fire rescue who responded to the facility are expected to testify.
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