Florida State Senator Dennis Baxley is a funeral home director, and has never shied away from controversy... but his recent remarks regarding the deaths at the Rehabilitation Center in Hollywood Hills have raised the bar.
Baxley said the victims were going to die anyway because they were so old.
“Look at the population,” said Baxley. “You‘re dealing with 90-somethings. Some of these deaths would naturally occur, storm or no storm.”
He added: “Eventually everyone who was in that nursing home will die. But we don‘t need to attribute those all to the storm and bad policy.”
Fellow lawmakers were stunned by this and other remarks.
The Democratic Leader in the Florida Senate says Baxley should be ashamed and he's demanding an apology on behalf of the victims' families.
By Thursday afternoon, Baxley released an apology via email:
I apologize if my comments yesterday did not properly convey the deep respect I have for elder members of our communities and the concern I share regarding the preventable tragedy that occurred in Hollywood.
As a funeral director and ordained elder of my church, I have spent my entire adult life working with families who are grieving the loss of a loved one. In addition to my faith, working in this field has shown me day in and day out that the life of each and every member of our society is special and worthy of respect.
Many of the funeral services we coordinate involve elder members of our community, and I take great pride in the opportunity to ensure their lives are honored and celebrated. No family member should have to fear that their loved one is suffering in a nursing home, particularly during a natural disaster.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure the Legislature takes the appropriate steps to safeguard our seniors from the horrific and inexcusable situation that occurred in Hollywood.”