Thumbs down - Report: Nursing home problems left unfixed

The Florida agency that oversees nursing homes failed to ensure that owners corrected hundreds of problems that put patients at risk, a federal audit has concluded.

As first revealed in a USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA investigation published in February, Florida'sAgency for Health Care Administration allows nursing homes with long histories of providing poor care to continue operating, only fining operators a few thousand dollars for violations.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Office of Inspector General audit published in April shed more light on the problem, noting AHCA wasn't even verifying homes had corrected problems cited by state inspectors.

Low-level deficiencies in nursing homes can be an indicator of deeper problems, according to activist Brian Lee of the watchdog nonprofit Families for Better Care. Lee cited the tragedy at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills where 12 people died when an air-conditioning system failed during Hurricane Irma in September.