BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) — When more than 150 seniors were forced out of the Aviata Assisted Living Facility in Bradenton over the weekend, neighbors and local advocates quickly stepped in, collecting essential supplies for residents suddenly displaced from the place they called home.
“Time is of the essence for our seniors. I mean, we think it’ll be fine one day, and the next day everything’s not fine. So, you know, we make sure that we start doing things immediately,” Chaz Davis from the Suncoast Aging Network said.
Davis has been helping coordinate donations for the evacuated Aviata residents, many of whom had little or no chance to gather personal items. The requested supplies include blankets, pillows, twin-size bedding, wipes, adult briefs in all sizes, chux pads and other everyday necessities.
8 On Your Side also checked back in with George Mendez, who holds power of attorney for his friend Alfred Peroni, a former resident of the Bradenton assisted living facility.
Mendez said that after the evacuation, he spent several days working to get Alfred returned to the Bradenton community where he feels most at peace.
“This is where his home was. This is where his church is. This is where his friends are. And I live here, and I’m his power of attorney,” George Mendez said.
Alfred has since moved into Westminster Senior Living Facility. He was among the more than 150 older adults evacuated after part of the roof collapsed at Aviata Assisted Living Facility over the weekend.
“I saw lots of sirens and ambulances and fire trucks and police and didn’t know what happened at first until I asked a police officer, and he told me there was a roof that caved in,” Don Reming, who watched the emergency response unfold, said.
As the Aviata Facility in Bradenton sits vacant and the investigation regarding the collapse is ongoing, community members are finding a way to help seniors acclimate to the other aviator facilities they’ve been transported to by gathering supplies they may need.
“It’s mentally exhausting for the seniors and the staff of these facilities. You know, the seniors have a routine. They have a daily routine… and when people are just uprooted because of an emergency or a natural disaster, it throws that whole schedule off,” Chaz Davis from the Suncoast Aging Network said.
We asked Aviata Health Group about the timeframe to repair the roof and if residents or loved ones would be allowed to retrieve some of their belongings. In a statement, they told us, “It would be premature to answer questions outside of what [they] released yesterday, as this is still an ongoing investigation.”
The city of Bradenton told us that the building hasn’t been approved for occupancy and they are waiting on the property owner’s structural engineer to evaluate before determining the next steps.
We also reached out to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, asking them if they would do a separate review of the situation, but we haven’t received a response about that yet.
