Temperature Was 103 Inside Tucson Adult Care Center, Owner Cited

TUCSON, AZ — The owner of a care facility for the elderly in Tucson faces criminal charges after five residents were hospitalized for heat-related illnesses Wednesday when the temperature inside the care center was around 103 degrees. Tucson police said Cynthia Hermann, 71, knew the facility’s air conditioning had not been working for several days as Tucson endures a scorching heat wave.

Police were called to Angelique’s Adult Care Home, 5101 E. Eighth St., at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to conduct a welfare check on the nine residents, who range in age from 64-86 and are either in the final stages of hospice care or require around-the-clock nursing, according to a news release.

Five of the nine residents were taken to the hospital for evaluation and four others were moved to other facilities, police said.

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The nurse who alerted authorities said the house was “extremely hot and the residents appeared to be in distress,” the release said.

The outside temperature in Tucson Wednesday was 111 degrees — the fourth consecutive day of scorching triple-digit heat in the city. The National Weather Service issued a three-day excessive heat warning for Tucson on Monday. Tuesday’s high was 112 degrees.

Hermann faces five counts of vulnerable adult abuse, a Class 4 felony, and nine counts of endangerment, a Class 6 felony.

The investigation is continuing, Tucson police said. Anyone with information is asked to call 88-CRIME. Tips may be left anonymously.

In a tweet Thursday, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus described the conditions inside the facility as “appalling.”

Photo via Tucson Police Department