Man Sought in Florida Nursing Home Resident’s Murder Believed to Have Used the Access Code to Enter the Building
Police are still searching for the man who killed a 95-year-old resident in a Florida nursing home, fled the building, and who continues to avoid arrest. It is believed that the man had the access code to the building’s courtyard entrance and was able to gain entrance into the facility and also exit through that door.
Staff at the facility told police that a standard access code was needed to open the courtyard’s electronically-locked door that the assailant is believed to have used to enter and exit the facility. Police were also told that exiting through that door requires a person to push and hold the bar on the door for 15 seconds to trigger the door’s magnetic lock and open the door.
When police arrived after staff called 911, they found the courtyard’s emergency exit door open and a repeating alarm sounding.
The police set-up a perimeter around the area and also used K-9 units to search for the unidentified man, but the assailant was not found and continues to be at-large.
Compliance Perspective
Failure by a nursing home to ensure that access codes to the building’s entrance and exit doors are kept confidential and changed on a regular basis may jeopardize the safety of residents and be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding keeping access codes confidential and the process for changing those codes on a regular basis.
- Train all staff about the need to keep access codes to the facility confidential so that no unauthorized person or resident is able to enter or exit, and to ensure that when they enter or exit, the doors close securely behind them.
- Periodically audit to make certain that staff responsible for regularly changing access codes to the facility’s entrances and exits are doing so, and that the equipment is functioning properly.
