In hurricane-prone Florida, a state mandate requires all nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have backup generators or power sources for air conditioning. But as strengthening Hurricane Dorian approaches landfall, nearly 60% of the state’s nursing homes have not installed equipment in line with those new regulations, according to data maintained by the Agency for Health Care Administration.
Out of 687 nursing homes in the state, 400 — 58.2% — have been given more than an additional year by state officials to meet the requirements, though the original deadline was the start of last year’s hurricane season. About 90% of the state’s 3,000-plus assisted living facilities, which are often smaller and have fewer beds, have said they have installed equipment that meets the new standards.
The pattern trends statewide. In South Florida, from Palm Beach County to Monroe County, only 59 of 146 nursing homes have implemented their generator plans, according to AHCA records.
Read more at our news partner the Miami Herald.
