9 Investigates history at nursing home where 83-year-old woman died after three-day stay

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — DCF is investigating after an 83-year-old woman died following a three-day stay at a Merritt Island nursing home.

Investigative Reporter Karla Ray learned the facility is owned by Maitland-based Consulate Health Care.  The state’s Agency for Health Care Administration threatened to shut down 58 of Consulate’s facilities completely in January 2018, amid concerns about patient care at two of its locations.

Filomena Rosante was battling lung cancer when she moved from Southwest Florida to Brevard County on October 16.  Her son James, who spells his last name Rosanti, chose an elder-care facility near his home.  However, at the last minute, that facility was not able to accommodate the 83-year-old’s need for access to a CPAP machine to help her breathe.  That forced the man to instead move his mother into Island Health and Rehabilitation instead.

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“That was the main reason she had to be there, in a skilled nursing facility, because of this machine,” Rosanti said.

Three days later, on October 19, the woman left the facility by ambulance.  She never returned.

A 911 call made that day by one of the facility’s employees reveals staff waited nearly an hour to call for help after Rosante fell.  Her son says the call was only made at his insistence, after he arrived to the facility and found her struggling to breathe and complaining of chest pains after falling.

Facilities like Island Health and Rehabilitation are regulated and inspected by AHCA.  Just within the last year and a half, 9 Investigates uncovered a stack of inspections detailing concerns about resident care.

Contact investigative reporter Karla Ray

Those records show one resident ‘spent most days in his room’ after going without hearing aids for 6 months.  The report notes that staff neglected to order an audiology exam on his behalf, despite repeated requests by his family.

Another record shows a different resident told investigators, “I’m supposed to get a shower on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  I hardly ever get one.”

An inspection from this year found a patient, with ‘poor to no safety awareness,’ who had fallen at least 7 times just in the course of two months, wasn’t being closely monitored for falls.  No one at the facility could explain why.

“I did not know there were places like this that could even exist,” Rosanti said.

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Island Health and Rehabilitation is one of 58 facilities owned by Maitland-based Consulate Health care, that AHCA threatened to shut down completely in January.  The action was taken amid concerns about resident care at two different locations.  All of those facilities stayed open after Consulate struck a settlement with AHCA.

“I promised my mother that I would take care of her, and I just feel like I should’ve put her in another place,” Rosanti said.

Consulate’s corporate spokesperson told us, “While we do not discuss any patient matter publicly, Island Health and Rehabilitation is dedicated to the safety, well-being, and privacy of all patients and residents; we take pride in treating their healthcare needs as our highest priority."

Rosante’s family has hired an attorney.

Island Health and Rehabilitation was rated a one-star on a five-star scale based on inspection data. Those rankings are published by the state and available for lookup by clicking or tapping here.

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Cox Media Group