Hundreds of nursing home facilities and assisted living facilities have failed to meet standards to have backup generator power sources installed. The new standard was put into place after 12 residents died during hurricane season last year from one facility whose air conditioning stopped working when the power went out. There was no backup generator to supply power and maintain cooler temperatures in the facility.
As a result, all facilities in the state were given a deadline to be in compliance with the new standards prior to hurricane season arriving in order to prevent future incidents and deaths such as those that occurred last year. Instead, many facilities have obtained extensions to meet the requirements, which will not be of help to the residents should hurricanes produce more incidents and disasters among the facilities.The state health department is working with facilities to move them towards compliance and preparation of hurricane season. For more, read the story.
