When Irma Arrived, Most Florida Health Care Facilities Were Ready
Eight deaths at a Florida nursing home got a lot of media attention. But a tour of other health care centers in the Miami area found mostly good care after Hurricane Irma struck.
Another hurricane, another health care horror story.
At least that's how it looked when eight patients died at a nursing home in Hollywood, Florida. The facility lost its air conditioning several days after Hurricane Irma struck.
That event conjured memories of the scores of elderly who died in Louisiana hospitals and nursing homes following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
But it would be misleading to attribute the Florida deaths primarily to Irma. And it would be a mistake to assume that most other health care facilities in southern Florida were unprepared for a hurricane.
