Pa's Department of Health (DOH) maintains a nursing home facility locator. You can search for homes by county, zip code, city or do a radius search. You can search just county-owned homes, state-owned home, nonprofiit or for-profit homes. Once you find a home, you can click on patient care surveys and see them for yourself. But as NorCo Council member Dave Holland observed at the most recent County Council meeting, there is a 41-day lag between when a deficiency is observed and when it appears on the DOH website.
During 2025, Gracedale was cited for eight deficiencies on 4/16 (bedsores), 6/25 (abuse), 8/11 (staffing), 9/19 (elopement), 9/23 (elopement), 10/2 (elopement), 10/17 (abuse) and 11/18 (staffing). (I have previously detailed these deficiencies both here and here.) Gracedale is a 688-bed facility with a provisional license and provides residents with 3.23 hours of nursing care each day. It has a one-star (much below average) CMS rating and is red-flagged for abuse. It has the lowest CMS rating of all county-owned nursing homes. Gracedale is the only home that was cited for elopement.
How does this stack home against other county-owned nursing homes? Of 14 county-owned nursing homes. Gracedale provided residents with the least amount of nursing care. It is the only facility whose license is provisional. It was cited more than the other nursing homes. It is one of four county-owned homes that have been red-flagged for abuse.
Berks Heim (Berks County) was cited twice, on 12/3 and 10/10, over its use of chemical restraints. This is a 420-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.47 hours of nursing care each day. It has a four-star (above average) CMS rating.
Cedarbrook (Lehigh County) was cited once, on 5/9, over privacy curtains in one nursing unit. This is a 670-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.83 hours of nursing care each day. It has a five-star (much above average) CMS rating.
Indian Haven (Indiana County) was cited three times, on 2/5 (menus inaccurate), 3/5 (abuse - nurse removed call bell from resident) and 12/30 (staffing). This is a 108-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.46 hours of nursing care each day. It has a two-star (below) average CMS rating and has been red-flagged for abuse.
Fair Acres (Delaware County) was cited twice, on 7/18 (resident grievance forms missing) and 1/24 (medication irregularities). This is a 778-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.89 hours of nursing care each day. It has a five-star (much above average) CMS rating.
John J Kane (Glen Hazel - Allegheny County) was cited twice on 11/25 (physical restraints on resident always falling) and 6/6 (food safety). During 2025, John J Kane (Pittsburgh - Allegheny County). This is a 255-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 4.18 hours of nursing care each day. It has a three-star (average) CMS rating.
John J Kane (McKeesport - Allegheny County) was cited twice on 11/20 (failure to notify medical provider of abnormal vital signs) and 5/29 (wheelchair accident). This is a 360-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.67 hours of nursing care each day. It has a four-star (above average) CMS rating
John J Kane (Ross Tp - Allegheny County) was cited seven times on 1/14 (infection control), 2/3 (medication control), 2/26 (food safety), 4/11 (accident hazards), 8/6 (refusal to readmit) and 12/11 (skin tear from urine bag removal). This is a 240-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 4.21 hours of nursing care each day. It has a two-star (below average) CMS rating.
John J Kane (Scott Tp - Allegheny County) was cited twice on 7/17 (magnetic doors disengaged during power outage) and 9/5 (improper food storage. This is a 311-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 4.65 hours of nursing care each day. It has a three-star (average) CMS rating and is still red-flagged for abuse as a result of a 2024 incident in which a resident being provided with incontinence care slid off her bed and broke her leg.
Neshaminy Manor (Bucks County) was cited for no deficiencies over four visits. This is a 360-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.41 hours of nursing care each day. It has a five-star (much above average) CMS rating.
Pleasant Ridge Manor-West (Erie County) was cited twice on 6/26 (failure to provide oxygen and maintain oxygen equipment) and on 6/16 (delay in reporting allegations of abuse). This is a 300-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.8 hours of nursing care each day. It has a three-star (average) CMS rating.
Pocopson Nursing Home (Chester County) was cited once on 2/13 for staffing deficiencies. This is a 275-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.54 hours of nursing care each day. It has a five-star (much above average) CMS rating.
Rouse-Warren County Home (Warren County) was cited twice on 7/3 (poor housekeeping in two units) and 8/21 (failure to maintain respiratory care equipment). This is a 176-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.75 hours of nursing care each day. It has a three-star (average) CMS rating.
Westmoreland Manor (Westmoreland County) was cited twice on 5/8 (hot coffee spilled on resident) and 5/29 (resident fractured hip from abuse by another resident). This is a 408-bed facility with a regular license and provides residents with 3.63 hours of nursing care each day. It has a two-star CMS rating and is red-flagged for abuse
Sorry taxpayers and families of our elderly. Tara's like busy saving us from like plastic straws and like fighting federal like government issues.
ReplyDeleteGracedale - where only the truly despondent and desperate go.
ReplyDeleteMost of these citations occurred after in August and after. Did anything happen in August to change things at the home ?
ReplyDeleteBernie, you are not reading that website correctly. A number of those homes were cited far more than you have acknowledged, including Gracedale itself. You’re not scrolling down on each survey. You may want to rewrite the post.
ReplyDeleteI only looked at the 2025 visits and explained that in my post, which you have not read correctly.
DeleteYou are patently incorrect. For example, read the September 23 Gracedale elopement complaint survey. There are four deficiencies from that one survey. You merely need to scroll down to see the other deficiencies. You’re missing that in other Nursing Home as well. If you’re going to speak on such an important subject, please be accurate. You’re doing the citizens a disservice, and this is not the first time that you have made this error in you’re reporting. You also failed to report the severity of each, which is more important than the number. Blue and green are minor, and yellow and red are major.
DeleteNo, my report is accurate. I am giving brief descriptions of the problem in each case. It is just not as detailed as you would like. You are welcome to write up each of these and post them here as comments.
DeleteSir, you’re just not accurate. You’re reading the top of the page and not going beyond that. Another example is there were 7 deficiencies on 4/16 and one of them dealt with bed sores. You’re not accurate about other facilities as well. It is time to put aside your ego and stay in your wheelhouse. Yes, Gracedale is broken. Posting about it repeatedly and then doing so in an inaccurate manner makes you look inauthentic. You obviously want the facility privatized, so you’ll take every opportunity to bash it whether you’re accurate or not.
DeleteI retired from Gracedale many years ago. I feel hurt to read all the negativity. The GRACEDALE STAFF took very good care of OUR residents and treated them like family. This abuse, neglect and elopement is on the shoulders of the last county executive. He chose to pay agency over his own employees. If he would have given employees a $10 or $15 thousand dollar raise per year GRACEDALE WOULD STILL BE THRIVING. Staff would have stayed.
ReplyDeleteHurtful, I’m sure, but this information is accurate and the present state of affairs. The hurtful and also frightening thing is that many knew about it, said it wasn’t happening and no one did anything about it. Some of those people still work for the county. That’s frightening not hurtful.
DeleteMany nursing homes of that size utilize agency. Even hospitals like St Luke's and LVH do. Reliable outside staff helps to alleviate on-staff burnout, and provide a bridge until vacancies are filled. I agree that market awareness and staff pay should be assessed regularly, especially when it comes to nurses and aides.
Delete2015 and 2016 - back to
ReplyDeleteback zero deficiency surveys for Gracedale. Says a lot about how that Gracedale ran under Premier and D Freeman. It apparently hadn’t ever had that until that time and hasn’t ever since then. It is NOT the same facility that some retired from and are now “hurt “ to read negative information about. The reasons are many but no one has done anything about it under Lamont. He appears to have snowed everyone into thinking things were wonderful. Many knew otherwise.
Seems to me the difference between the homes are the elopements. The facts of those individual cases matter.
ReplyDeleteAll of this data is old. All the these citations were the subject of Plans of Correction last year. The Department of Health approved these plans last year. The Plans were implemented last year. This was all said at the last meeting. Why are we talking about it this year ? What in the cited conduct was corrected last year, and is ongoing this year ?
ReplyDeleteIs this you Kelly protecting your best bud?
DeleteMorning Call article noted deficiency for 2026. Maybe call them or wait until it’s posted on the state site. By the way, these were horrendous citations leading to one star, abuse notation and provisional license. That’s why it’s important to keep it in the public eye.
ReplyDeleteTara and Sue are clearly in over their heads here. It's time to put out an RFP/RFQ for a management company to run the place. The Dems like Kraft, Keegan, and Warren on Council who ran on the "county run, county owned" slogan need to drop their political posturing and do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen a resident has to call 911 to rescue another roommate from having stuff shoved down her throat by staff, I think that is the time to accept no new admissions until and if a safe place can be created and to seriously reconsider if running a safe nursing home is within the ability and interests of all. I am not convinced the plastic straw lady has the ability or the sustained interest to do much. Sadly, this will disappear from the news till the next abuse/neglect rises to the level to get some news.
ReplyDeleteIt seems this new administration will be more forthcoming and be more transparent about Gracedale which is appreciated. If you saw early on when Lamont McClure won county executive, Gracedale was a standing agenda item at meetings but as his relationship with council turned sour, you notice as time went on he rarely presented on Gracedale and kept things hidden. He used Gracedale as his political pawn and that backfired. Tara seems to want to discuss the issues but as there is more transparency, council has to realize they can’t start bashing Gracedale. They work really hard for the residents there and should be appreciated. I applaud them for dealing with a revolving administration because things are always changing. Im hoping that council visits Gracedale more often so they can see for themselves and hear from the residents directly.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a smoke screen. David should run from council while he can.
DeleteHis “face” appears to indicate that already.
DeleteSue W is abrasive and doesn’t have a clue on how a nursing home should be run. I don’t believe there were any citations when John Brown was executive.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago the agency staff were coming from Philly 4 in a car and making big bucks to do almost nothing. Put their 8 hrs in and go home. All this was brought to council’s attention. They said “you have to come in front of council”. No employee could do that without retaliation.
ReplyDeleteThese citations were resolved last year. Everyone needs to visit Gracedale and judge for themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a disgrace that it is one star with a provisional license and an abuse rating. Who is doing admissions now and who is the administrator? No one seems to know,
DeletePeople on this blog apparently have no idea what it takes to get a one star rating, a provisional license and an abuse rating. Don’t believe anyone who tells you to go there and that everything is fine.
DeleteCovid was the start of the decline but was not the cause for the major part in its destruction. You had a DON and some administration that did not care about any employees situation at that time. It was their way or the highway. They did not help workers who were now stuck with children at home and no one to watch them. They would not adjust schedules to help out any workers. If you don’t like it there’s the door per golden boy Dunlap. Then the vaccine mandate didn’t help either. Good workers had to choose the door unfortunately. Then you bring in agency workers. Not all are bad there are a few that actually care and work hard. The other majority show up get paid well and do absolutely the bare minimum if that. Nursing was the new fad - wear cute scrubs, go agency get paid great money and pick your own schedule. The majority of the agency workers do not care about the residents its just a job. Then Lamont said fill the beds no matter what and they accepted all types of individuals. Nursing homes are not grandparents living out the rest of their days. They have become over run with drug addicts, alcoholics, and psych patients unable to take care of themselves and families that don’t want to deal with them. Many of them are very disrespectful to staff and other residents. Then add in resident rights, which basically lets residents do whatever they want with no consequences because it’s there home. Once you admit them its hard to just discharge them and the facility is stuck. Many staff members did spoke up but then the retaliation started. Employees were called disgruntled and undeserving. Then staff became silent and afraid to lose their jobs. You have long time staff that have never seen any significant pay increases. New staff starting at higher wages. There are Gracedale staff working many double shifts just to pay basic bills. Yet agency staff is bragging about the many resort vacations they have scheduled so far this year. Money is an factor overall. Grandfather the long time employees and change new hire benefits. The younger generation does not care about pensions and health benefits. The place can turn around if you have real caring staff. It won’t ever be the good old Gracedale but it can be way better than it is now. People just need to open their eyes and see the truth and listen. The lies have gone on for way too long from previous administration. Things need to be looked at and not shoved under the rug.
ReplyDeleteI believe most of the posts on this blog are from people who were in leadership positions and are now trying to protect their mis-management decisions by blaming everyone else for the problems they created. You screwed the employees at Gracedale, with the help of their worthless Union by taking the monies needed to operate the facility and spending those dollars on your pet projects. Photo "OPS" and headlines were more important to you than caring for our elderly residents. NO TAX INCREASE BUDGETS became the goal of County Executives and reducing the care and the cost of caring for our elderly became the norm.
ReplyDeleteZirinski is doing her best to clean up the awful mess made by McClure and Barron on Gacedale. He hid valuable information. To this day his minions complain about a dialogue. Tesher are people serving on council who are more concerned with McClure Then the Residents. same FOR SOEM OF HIS HANDPICKED boards. good LUCK Tara YOU WILL NEED IT. dump some of his people, they aren't helping you
ReplyDeletePlease stop claiming that the county executive didn’t know, she did! She was on council noting the Gracedale’s issues, she never offered any input, she was there as controller monitoring cash flows and funding knowing there were problems with shortfalls coming, just admit she had enough history from her tenure to be aware of growing concerns, and now
DeleteShe has 6 months to do something, and she decides to make warehouses issues
a concern. Good luck with next 6 months.
The county hires anyone with a pulse. Job descriptions were changed. Qualifications and standards were lowered so people could be hired. Then the county paid to certify/educate new hires. HR is a joke. Personnel files were stamped “do not rehire” but they rehired. Why rehire a problem employee. They were let go for a reason. Oh wait! It would fill an empty position. Then start the whole process of getting rid of them again.
ReplyDeleteEven when gracedale was on the meeting agenda what and how information was shared was very controlled by administration at county level.first hand experience they chose what to share and what not to share. If you want to keep your job you say only what is approved by administration and the executive. None of the problems are new. If they bring in a management company and tie their hands then it's a waste of money and effort. It has to be transparent. Unfortunate management companies play the game as well with county executives so they keep their contract.
ReplyDeleteAre Gracedale’s problems a priority?
ReplyDeleteThe home has 365 acres to be concerned with
The buildings are historic and need maintenance
The home has over 600 patients and residents
The home has approx 2,000 employees
The home’s license could be pulled in 6 months
The home is one of largest county owned home
The home needs approx $2 million /year to run
The home has apparently lost its yearly IGT funding of $2.1 million .
The home had $7million transferred to it from county general fund to keep it in black.
I wouldn’t be worrying about warehouses now!