11th death blamed on AC failure at Hollywood Hills nursing home

An 11th death has been blamed on the air-conditioning failure at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, which was caused by power outages from last week’s storm.

The victim was identified by the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office as 94-year-old Alice Thomas.

Thomas died on Thursday, eight days after the power failure caused a wave of deaths and forced the evacuation of the nursing home, which is just steps away from Memorial Regional Hospital.

Her death, and the 10 prior ones, are the subject of a criminal investigation. The home’s access to Medicaid funding has been halted and its license to operate has been pulled.

Family members of patients who were evacuated from the rehab center to assisted living facilities, nursing homes or hospice centers are being asked to call Hollywood Police Department investigators at 954-967-4411 Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

After hours, they can call 954-967-4435.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 5:46 PM with the headline "11th death blamed on AC failure at Hollywood Hills nursing home."