Broward Health Hospice Contractor VITAS Denies Admission To Dying, Indigent Inmate

A dying homeless man ordered released from jail Friday so he could be sent for hospice care at Broward Health was instead denied admission to hospice after he refused to sign a form, according to email obtained by FloridaBulldog.org.

Pablo Hernandez, a 65-year-old indigent suffering from terminal liver cancer, remained hospitalized in custody Monday in a secure, non-hospice facility. His lawyer said Broward County Jail officials said he likely will be returned to jail soon.

Refusing to sign the form wasn’t the only apparent reason Havana-born Hernandez was denied access to hospice. In an email copied to Hernandez’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Lorena Mastrarrigo, Broward Sheriff’s transportation Sgt. Carl Richardt said a nurse had informed him “the onsite hospice provider VITAS (Healthcare) refused him due to him being undocumented.”