BEAVERDALE — Officials with the state Department of Public Welfare closed a Summerhill Township personal care home Tuesday and immediately removed 15 elderly and mentally challenged residents and placed them in other facilities in the area.
Before noon, welfare officials accompanied by Summerhill Township police executed an emergency relocation order and moved the residents out of Brunnet’s Personnel Care Home, 134 Lance St. The facility is located between Beaverdale and Portage.
The closing followed an investigation that revealed a pattern of neglect, including a Nov. 30 incident of sexual abuse with an unidentified instrument by one resident on another resident.
“This is pretty severe,” said DPW spokeswoman Stacey Witalec. “We took this action due to gross negligence.”
The state said the home’s operators failed to develop a plan to protect residents from a known sexual offender residing at the facility. They also were lax in getting the victim medical and psychiatric help following an initial visit to the hospital earlier this month, officials said.
A total of 227 violations were documented. An October inspection revealed poor sanitary conditions, lack of privacy for some residents and mixing of facility and resident funds.
The facility is owned by William and Shirley Brunnet, and the administrator is listed as Cara Bennett.
A similar facility owned by the Brunnets in Everett was closed in 2007 due to resident neglect and abuse, Witalec said.
William Brunnet was at the facility when DPW officials moved the residents out. He said he received no prior notice of the state’s intentions.
He maintained he reported the resident assault and followed the law in handling the incident.
DPW staff have been working with residents’ families and county aging officials for several days to locate other homes, Witalec said.
“We make sure we are finding for each individual a facility that will meet their needs,” she said.
Brunnet’s Personnel Care Home was licensed to house 22 residents. At the time the decision was made for the state to force its closure, 20 men and women were living there.
Five had found homes elsewhere prior to Tuesday’s action, state officials said.
Summerhill Township police Chief Paul Bonfanti said the residents were removed from the facility without incident.
Bonfanti said he has been called to the home a number of times, most recently to investigate the alleged sexual assault.
The state’s violation report said facility operators ignored the declining health of the assault victim over a three-week period until family members visiting him on Christmas Day requested he get medical addition.
A medical report showed he had a fractured pelvis, septicemia and an abscess so severe he was unable to urinate.
Local News
State shuts care home
Investigation revealed a pattern of neglect
- Local News
-
-
Proposed bill would expand use of traffic-light cameras
Some call it the hand of “big brother,” others are convinced cameras at signal lights would be effective in curbing red-light runners and ultimately saving lives.
-
Minister's trial date set
An issue has been resolved over the report from an examination of a girl allegedly taken by her mother to a Bedford motel to have sex with a traveling minister, clearing the way for a trial.
-
AP: Almost half of new veterans seek disability
America’s newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
-
Geistown beginning crime watch program
Residents will patrol Geistown streets in the coming weeks as part of a community watch program.
-
Persons of the Week: Nanty Glo vets will remember fallen comrades
Michael Kurtz, Tom Kasecky and Steve Kasecky will be among members of the Loy A. Douglass Post 3489 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Nanty Glo who will be honoring fallen veterans today, Memorial Day.
-
AG candidates face potential conflicts of interest
Both candidates for Pennsylvania attorney general have family ties that could pose a conflict of interest for the one who is elected as the state’s next chief legal officer.
-
Lawmakers: Capitol rallies unpersuasive
Nancy Richey stepped to the podium with a microphone at the Capitol rotunda with the hope that the right people would hear her message.
-
Richland closer to new chief
The search for Richland’s next police chief is winding down.
-
In brief: Thunderstorm downs trees, knocks out power
A late Sunday afternoon thunderstorm brought high winds, hard rain and hail to the Cambria-Somerset region.
- District Deaths May 28, 2012
- More Local News Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
