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AVENTURA • BAL HARBOUR • DANIA BEACH • HALLANDALE BEACH • HOLLYWOOD • NORTH MIAMI BEACH • PEMBROKE PINES • PEMBROKE PARK • SURFSIDE • SUNNY ISLES BEACH
Residents were removed from the facility Sept. 13, 2017, after their body temperatures topped 100 degrees at the nursing home, which was across from Memorial Regional Hospital. Eight people died that day from the sweltering heat, while four others died in the days that followed.
Criminal Charges Filed The Hollywood Hills Nursing Home Disaster Update By Marylynne Newmark
How safe is your loved one in a nursing home? The decision is tough enough when a family feels they no longer can provide the care for someone who is homebound. Reasons can include the need for 24-hr supervision or round-the-clock physical care, aggravated by the inability of family members to afford home care service while they are away or work-
ing. Researching the right place for the patient that also is close enough for family visits and oversight is the next step. A time-consuming personal visit to each facility would offer the family member an eyeball introduction to sizing up the facility. Is the staff friendly and helpful to you? How attentive and caring do the hands-on caregivers appear when providing services to the patients?
Are the common areas, patient rooms and dining room clean? Are there odors? Bugs? Do the patients look clean, happy and involved, or are they sitting listlessly, some with their heads drooping, in a wheelchair lineup at the nurse’s station? What about physical therapy? Is equipment being utilized? Most important of all: How safe is the place? Where are the exits, fire extinguishers and are there workable fire doors
between units? You take all that into consideration. But would you think of checking on their emergency power and plans in the case of outages? That was the problem with the Hollywood Hills Nursing Home disaster after Hurricane Irma hit in 2017. There was no adequate emergency generator for back up electrical service, so no air conditioning or oxygen therapy. After languishing in their beds or wheelchairs in corridors for five days with temperatures in the 100s, many elderly patients died, and others were hospitalized. However, the electricity issue was only the cause. The problem really was with the staff, and of course, the administrator who directs it all. The defendants claimed to have called Governor Scott’s office and FP&L many times during those days without power. But why did they wait? Although they moved the patients out to the corridors from hot rooms with no circulation, why did they not evacuate them? Memorial Hospital is less than fifty feet from Hollywood Hills Rehab, just across the street.. In all hurricane plans mandated by the State of Florida at the beginning of hurricane season for all healthcare services, onsite and evacuation plans must be included. Where were theirs? That’s the crime here. What administration and staff at Hollywood Hills Rehab did or Nursing Home, Page 6A
Mini-FLOW Florida Licensing on Wheels They Are Coming Soon To Your City Florida Licensing On Wheels (FLOW) mobile offices bring motorist services to you and your communities. During the first few weeks of October the Florida Licensing Team will be in North Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, The California Club area, Aventura, and Surfside to service you. The mobile units provide a convenient method to: Update your Emergency Contact information, convert, reciprocate “Out of state” license, apply for an original Identification card “Veteran s” designation, renew/replace or change the name or address on your driver license/ID Card. In addition to licensing services, the mobile unit also provides an opportunity for you to renew/ replace your vehicle registration or Disabled Parking Placards. No written or driving tests are given from mobile units. Customers must bring necessary documents and acceptable proofs of address needed for Licensing and Identification purposes. All documents must be original. What to Bring The U.S. Department of Homeland Security REAL ID Act became effective nationwide in 2008, mandating new standards for the issuance of driver licenses and identification cards. Florida began issuing REAL ID-compliant credentials January 1, 2010. New driver licenses and ID cards have a “star” in the upper right corner of the card, indicating that they are REAL ID-compliant. As part of the REAL ID Act, there are documentation requirements for residents renewing or obtaining a new driver license or ID card. Mini-FLOW, Page 7A
Flood Protection for Sunny Isles Beach Residents Things You Should Know
MIRACLE LEAF OF HALLANDALE An Alternative Pathway For Relief and Healthier Living It is easily one of the most discussed topics we have. Medical Marijuana. The mention of it conjures up feelings, some strong and emotional, while others fully understand what’s behind the passage of the bill and what positives it has on so many patients globally. Ever since Florida voters passed the use of medical marijuana for patients who were looking for a better quality of life, it has taken off in a major way. In actuality, it should take off. If knowledge was king and
Taking Time To Enjoy The City, 4A
the real principles of what it does for so many was truly fully understood, this would indeed be a better place to live. While it has not been accepted by the “traditional medical community” - and still is viewed by many as a pure “waste of time” - that is where the disconnect is often made and the loss of the factual and physical information in support of how it positively aids in the quality of life for many patients with life-altering ailments. The topic of “medical marijuana” certainly was much more controversial in the past,
Because the City of Sunny Isles Beach is located in a unique geographical area; it is particularly susceptible to flooding from major rain events and storm surge. The City is surrounded by major water bodies such as the Atlantic Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean’s Intracoastal. Sunny Isles Beach lies close to sea level and its underground water supply is just below the ground surface. Therefore, major rain events sometimes leave rainwater nowhere to drain, causing occasional flooding in some areas of the City. To find out if your home lies in an area susceptible to flooding, known as Special Flood Hazard Areas or flood zones, please call the Building Department at 305.947.2150.
but with all of the public education and positive benefits in patients with all types of disorders, it certainly now is more mainstream thinking. What this is all about - is not groundbreaking at all. For those who turn their cheek in a direction other than to learn and fully grasp the properties that marijuana possesses, it is unfortunate because it is essential, for any physician to exhaust any and all “remedies” that
City Flood Services The first thing you should do is check your flood hazard. Flood maps and flood protection references are available at the City of Sunny Isles Beach Public Library. You can also visit the Building Department on the third floor of City Hall to see if you are in a mapped floodplain. If so, they can give you more information, such as depth of flooding over a
Miracle Leaf, Page 4B
Flood Protection, Page 7A
Sports Aches and Pains Getting You Down? 1B
Kodner Galleries Antiques and Much More, 2A