St. Augustine assisted living facility tenant dies following fight in facility

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The St. Augustine Health and Rehabilitation Center of Sunrise Boulevard, a facility of 120 beds, is now at the center of a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office investigation after two of its patients got into a fight.

One of the patients in the brawl was in their 70s and the other in their 80s.

The younger of the two got hurt during the altercation and had to be taken to a hospital in Jacksonville.

The Sheriff’s Office says five to six days later, that person was dead.

A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said it is waiting on the autopsy results to figure what caused the death.

Was it the fight? Or did the person have a preexisting health condition?  Both are key questions that will determine how the investigation proceeds and if anything criminal happened.

TRENDING: 

Action News Jax’s Lorena Inclan contacted the center to ask what led up to this fight. A woman answered Inclan’s phone call and took down her information, but she has not heard back yet.

In the meantime, neighbors curious about why Action News Jax was at the facility were shocked when Inclan told them what happened.

Some neighbors, none of whom wanted to talk publicly, told Inclan the facility is a quiet one aside from the occasional sighting of an ambulance.

Action News Jax looked up state inspection reports and discovered seven pages of documents. The most recent inspection was in February of this year… where two fire and life-related deficiencies were corrected.

The Sheriff’s Office will look to speak with witnesses of the fight to try to figure out what led up to it. It will also look to see if it was captured on surveillance video.

The St. Augustine Health and Rehabilitation Center said in a statement: 

The professional staff and caregivers at St. Augustine Health and Rehabilitation Center are deeply saddened by the tragic outcome of an incident at the facility on April 9th. The staff extends its deepest condolences and prayers to the impacted family.  

Facility caregivers immediately reacted to a situation and took the appropriate steps to separate the individuals. The facility contacted the St. John’s Sheriff’s Office as well as Fire Rescue to assist. As required by state law, the incident was reported that morning to The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) in Tallahassee. We are cooperating fully with both local law enforcement and AHCA as the incident remains under investigation. Federal health privacy laws restrict us from commenting on any resident, past or present, without the written consent of the resident or his or her responsible party.

The death of a resident is a very emotional time for facility staff. Our caregivers develop true relationships with the residents and families that enter our facility on a daily basis and take seriously their care and wellbeing.  

Skilled Nursing Facilities are the most regulated of all health care providers and undergo rigorous surveys throughout the year. Our employees are real people who answered a calling to care for our most frail and elderly population. We stand by the care of the professionals at St. Augustine Health and Rehabilitation Center and extend our prayers to the family and friends of the resident involved in a tragic situation.  

Cox Media Group