Death Toll Hits 14 in Florida Nursing Home Tragedy

Two more dead from nursing home that lost air conditioning during hurricane
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 9, 2017 5:21 PM CDT
Death Toll Hits 14 in Florida Nursing Home Tragedy
Messages left on the sidewalk of the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills nursing home.   (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP)

Two women who lived at a Florida nursing home that lost air conditioning during Hurricane Irma have died, becoming the 13th and 14th fatalities linked to the home, the AP reports. Hollywood police spokeswoman Miranda Grossman said Monday that Cecilia Franco, 90, and Francesca Andrade, 95, died from ailments suffered when the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills lost power Sept. 10 during the hurricane's passage. On Sept. 13, eight residents died and other residents were evacuated from the sweltering facility after the electric transformer that powered the facility's air conditioning was damaged during the storm. Grossman didn't say exactly when the women died, but said police are treating the deaths as part of the criminal investigation.

The Miami Herald reports Franco's husband, Miguel Antonio Franco, who had also lived at the home, died Sept. 13. No one has been charged. The state has suspended the home's license. Last week, the facility let go of 245 workers, including doctors, nurses, therapists and others.

(More Hurricane Irma stories.)

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