A circuit judge this week agreed to put on hold a lawsuit about the continued operation of a Broward County nursing home where residents died after Hurricane Irma.
Leon County Circuit Judge James Shelfer on Thursday issued a brief order approving an agreement by The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills nursing home and the state Agency for Health Care Administration to at least temporarily halt the lawsuit. Attorneys for the nursing home filed a document last week asking that the lawsuit be placed in “abeyance” because it could be resolved in a separate administrative case.
A hearing had been scheduled for Friday in the lawsuit. The nursing home filed the lawsuit to challenge state decisions to suspend its license, suspend it from the Medicaid program and place a moratorium on patient admissions.
Gov. Rick Scott's administration took the actions against the nursing home after eight residents died Sept. 13, three days after Hurricane Irma knocked out the facility's air conditioning. Six other residents died later after evacuation.
