Eight nursing home patients died here Wednesday amid sweltering conditions after Hurricane Irma knocked out the air conditioning, and more than 150 others had to be evacuated.

The events prompted Florida Gov. Rick Scott to order a state health agency to issue an immediate moratorium preventing the facility from admitting new patients.

The order “is necessary to protect the lives and the safety of frail elders,” the agency said in a statement. A criminal investigation by local police is also under way.

Mr. Scott, who has stressed that restoring power to hospitals and nursing homes is a priority, said the nursing home—Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills—bears responsibility for the safety of the residents.

The nursing home is part of a health-care group that also includes two hospitals in South Miami and Hialeah that are owned by Dr. Jack J. Michel, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Dr. Michel bought the nursing home out of bankruptcy in 2015 after its former chief executive was convicted of Medicare fraud. He declined to comment.

The evacuation followed “a prolonged power failure to the transformer which powered the facility’s air-conditioning system as a result of the hurricane” said Jorge Carballo, administrator of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills. The facility didn’t lose power during the storm, but after losing the transformer, he said the administration notified the utility and reached out to first responders.

“We are devastated by these losses,” he said. “We are fully cooperating with all authorities and regulators to assess what went wrong.”

The deaths come as utilities work to restore power to millions of Floridians after Irma made landfall there on Sunday. About 3.5 million power customers in the hot and humid state still lacked service Wednesday afternoon as the mammoth restoration effort continues.

As of Tuesday, 114 of Florida’s nursing homes were relying on generators. The governor called on first responders around the state to check in on all of the health-care facilities in their area.

Under Florida law, nursing homes must file emergency plans with their counties. Federal law requires nursing homes to have an alternative source of energy to maintain temperature, protect residents’ health and safety and power other critical functions, such as sewage and waste disposal, according to a spokeswoman for the Florida Health Care Association, which represents the state’s nursing homes.

Broward County signed off on the facility’s latest emergency plan in July, according to county records.

The Broward County medical examiner identified the victims, whose ages ranged from 70 to 99, but had yet to determine causes of death.

Officials increased the death count Wednesday afternoon from the six reported earlier. The Broward County medical examiner identified the victims, whose ages ranged from 70 to 99, but hadn’t yet determined the cause of death.

The governor’s office said officials in the state’s health department had been in contact with the Hollywood nursing home and its owners for the past three days. The facility reported Tuesday that they had power and access to fans and spot coolers provided by Memorial Healthcare, Mr. Scott’s office said.

At no time did the nursing home alert state health officials that conditions had become dangerous or that patients were at risk, a health department spokeswoman said. The facility didn’t notify the department that its cooling system wasn’t working until 7:30 a.m. Wednesday—hours after firefighters found dire conditions there.

According to the state, the nursing home became aware on Sunday that its air conditioner had stopped working effectively. It contacted the local electric provider and placed eight air coolers throughout the facility and put fans in the halls.

Several residents suffered respiratory or cardiac distress between 1:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. Wednesday, the state order said, and eight patients ultimately died. First responders directed the nursing home to evacuate the second floor due to the heat; the nursing home ultimately evacuated the whole building.

Hollywood Police Chief Tomas Sanchez said rescuers found “conditions were extremely hot” on the second floor of the facility. Daytime temperatures in Hollywood have been around 90 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days, according to the National Weather Service.

“I have seen mass casualties before but this situation is something unique and dire,” said Randy Katz, an emergency medicine doctor at the nearby Memorial Regional Hospital. Patients receiving treatment were suffering from dehydration, severe respiratory conditions and heat exhaustion, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Relatives arrived at the facility Wednesday morning after hearing about the situation on the news.

Elli Pina, whose 96-year-old mother moved to the two-story facility two months ago, described extreme conditions since the storm with residents in the hallways and an on-site generator providing power to fans and portable air-conditioning units. “It was very hot in there,” Ms. Pina said.

She said she called the power company multiple times asking for assistance but didn’t try to move her mother because she felt she was too frail.

Utility Florida Power & Light Co., said a portion of the Hollywood nursing-home facility had power, and that there was a hospital across the parking lot with power. The county considered the nursing home a priority for power restoration, but not as high a priority as critical facilities like hospitals and 911 centers, the utility said.

“What we’ve seen is something extremely tragic,” said Rob Gould, a spokesman for the utility. “It points to the need for having plans in advance when it comes to emergency preparation.”

Among the deceased was 70-year-old Gail Nova, who had lived at the facility for more than eight years after suffering a massive stroke, according to her son, Jeff Nova, who lives in Coral Gables, Fla.

Before Hurricane Irma hit, a nurse assured him his mother was in good hands, he said.

On Sunday, as the storm lashed South Florida, he called the facility to check on her but couldn’t get through to anyone—a common frustration, he said.

Mr. Nova said he has been told little about what happened to his mother, other than that she died at 6:47 a.m. Wednesday. He has many questions, including why nursing home staff didn’t call for help sooner, particularly with a hospital emergency room just across the street.

“My mom died under the care of staff that were supposed to be there to protect her,” he said. “I lost my mom and didn’t get to say goodbye in a proper manner.”

Source: AFP