Nursing home burglary probed

Staff report

BOARDMAN

Police are investigating a burglary that occurred early Thursday at a South Avenue nursing home.

Workers at Valley Renaissance Healthcare Center, 5665 South Ave., called police around 2 a.m. Thursday when they discovered two windows, each in a different residential room, had been broken out.

Employees had been alerted to the break-in when one of the resident’s breathing apparatus had been removed, causing an alarm to sound. Twenty minutes before the alarm went off, the resident, a female in her 70s, had been given a bath by caregivers and was placed back in bed with clean sheets.

When workers came in to the room, they found the woman’s sheets had been pulled back and dirt on the bed.

As a precaution, police officers recommended that the woman be transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for a medical examination and a sexual assault kit. The nursing-home resident was taken there and the sexual assault kit has been sent out for analysis.

According to a statement from Michael Rescineto, facility adminsitrator for Valley Renaissance, no property was stolen or damaged, and no one was harmed. Resciento has requested police routinely patrol the area.