Published: December 05, 2008 11:40 pm      

Laurel Crest pays fine of $27G

EBENSBURG — Laurel Crest, Cambria County’s nursing home that has been trying to get back on a sound financial footing, has paid a $27,560 civil fine by a federal agency for deficiencies found in a state inspection in the summer.

The fine comes at a time when Laurel Crest is getting ready to re-open the fifth floor for patients needing short-term care.

The home’s goal is for an average of 274 residents a day.

The civil penalty actually had been assessed at $42,400 – $800 per day for 53 days, from July 31 until Sept. 21 – for not meeting federal requirements because of the deficiencies.

But the amount was reduced after the nursing home waived a hearing on the fine, the agency said.

Deborah Nesbella, administrator, said that the deficiencies were cited when the nursing home was dealing with a virus similar to the type that hits cruise ships.

Because of the virus, the state imposed an 18-day ban on admissions. But it took the nursing home about a month until operations were back to normal, administrators said.

The 53 days represents the time between when the state inspectors reported the deficiencies and when its corrections plan was completed, she said.

The fine is one of the highest the home has been required to pay in recent years.

In 2007, when its operations were under close scrutiny by the state, Laurel Crest ended up twice on a provisional license and paid about $55,000 in various fines. One fine was for $9,000 for shortcomings in the wake of a patient’s death after an accident involving a mechanical lift.

In the latest civil penalty, Nesbella said that the original $800-a-day fine took into consideration Laurel Crest’s past history of shortcomings.

“They go back about two years (in reviewing the home’s record). It’s cumulative – like a bad credit report, and you have to work away at it,” she said.

The fine was paid this week at a time when the commissioners are finalizing a $6 million loan to cover financial shortfalls this year at Laurel Crest. Laurel Crest’s bills were being paid from the county’s general fund.

But administrators have drawn up what the commissioners say will be a realistic budget for 2009 based on projected census – an average of 274 residents a day – that the nursing home will be able to meet.

To make the home more attractive to prospective residents and their families, all of the rooms are being converted into semi-private rooms, President Commissioner P.J. Stevens said. Some rooms still are occupied by four residents, he said.

Laurel Crest’s budget will be part of the 2009 county fiscal package being unveiled Tuesday.