RICHARD CURREN

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The recent diagnosis of an assisted living facility worker in Hollywood threatened the safety of yet more seniors in Broward County. Minutes away from Lincoln Manor, a cluster of 13 COVID-19 cases plagued Atria Willow Wood, a much larger assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale. (Curren family, WPLG)Richard Curren was the first of three Atria Willow Wood residents to die. He blamed their deaths on Atria Senior Living, the operator of the assisted living facility. Seven Atria Willow Wood residents remain hospitalized and two test results are pending as of Tuesday afternoon.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Richard Curren was the first of three Atria Willow Wood residents to die of COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease that is spreading in South Florida. DeSantis blamed their deaths on Atria Senior Living, the operator of the assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale. The three residents who died are among the 13 who had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday afternoon. After the three COVID-19 patients died, Mary Mayhew, the secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, said Atria Willow Wood wasn’t the only ALF under investigation for COVID-19. As of Monday afternoon, the CDC confirmed 14 deaths in Florida were caused by COVID-19.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Atria Senior Living, the operator of the assisted living facility in Broward County where Gov. DeSantis said two of the seven residents infected at Atria Willow Wood in Fort Lauderdale died. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue has returned to the facility at least a dozen times to rescue residents. DeSantis accused Atria Willow Wood administrators of not properly screening construction workers and staff allowing them to work their jobs unimpeded. Richard Curren, 77, died at Atria Willow Wood in Fort Lauderdale after contracting COVID-19.

Ron Desantis sent a warning to the operators of assisted living facilities saying they need to take responsibility for their residents during the deadly pandemic. The 92-year-old man was a resident at the Atria Willow Wood assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale. The first death was confirmed earlier this week and the patient was identified as Richard Curren, 77, a resident of the Atria Willow Wood assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale. The Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees and regulates assisted living facilities in Florida, now has an embedded staff at the facility around the clock, according to Desantis. “If you are an operator at one of these facilities, you need to take responsibility for your residents and you need to take action to protect your people,” said Desantis.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue personnel have responded to the Atria Willow Wood assisted living facility two times on Wednesday to help a man who was showing symptoms of the deadly respiratory illness. According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, two other residents were hospitalized on Tuesday night. Several Fort Lauderdale firefighters and one police officer are on quarantine after being at the facility. Curren, 77, was living at the assisted living facility with his wife, Sheila Curren. The five Fort Lauderdale firefighters who took Richard Curren to the hospital on Friday are among the firefighters in quarantine.