State probes rest home

The county controller's investigation is also ongoing.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Bank statements, invoices and a check register belonging to Lawrence County's nursing home were seized this week for an investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.
County Controller Mary Ann Reiter said she turned the items over to two agents Thursday afternoon. She expects to hear back from them sometime next week, she said.
Reiter said she contacted the state earlier this month after starting her own investigation into the county nursing home's finances.
The books came under scrutiny when the Pennsylvania Department of Health halted the sale of the home to a private buyer, Sylvan Heights Realty Partners.
Reason
State officials said they were concerned that funds from a private pay patient account had been deposited into a Sylvan Heights Realty Partners bank account. The state also questioned the nursing home management company, Americare, and its relationship to the potential buyers. One of the buyers is affiliated with Americare.
Reiter said her own investigation into the nursing home's finances is ongoing because she is waiting to get bank statements from Sylvan Heights Realty's account at National City Bank.
Reiter was granted permission by Lawrence County Common Pleas Court earlier this month to inspect the bank records of Hill View Manor and Sylvan Heights Realty Partners.