Financial issues cited in pending closure of Latrobe personal care home
More than two dozen residents of a Latrobe personal care home will need to find other accommodations before July 8.
Latrobe Manor administrator Kim Cecere said this week the home is working with families of its residents to find other placements for them. The 28 residents include elderly people and some with disabilities.
“We want to make sure everybody is taken care of,” Cecere said.
Management of Latrobe Manor, at 501 S. Alexandria St., gave 60-day notice to state officials of its intent to close.
The pending closure was attributed to financial considerations, according to the state Department of Human Services, which oversees such facilities.
Cecere said she expects to relocate to another of the owner’s facilities and said 11 other staffers are being offered the same opportunity.
“It’s a sad situation,” she said of the closure. “It’s a very good family group here. Some of the staff have worked here for 10 years, and some residents have been here for 15 years.”
She said some violations documented during 2023 inspections of the Latrobe care home occurred while she was on leave from the facility and did not have a bearing on the plan to close it.
According to documents posted online by the Department of Human Services, Latrobe Manor has been operating under a provisional license, set to expire Aug. 13. for occupancy by up to 38 residents. The provisional status was based on a plan to correct violations cited during Oct. 4 and Nov. 21 inspections.
The violations included:
• Failure to report to officials a verbal and physical altercation between two residents and the conduct of a staffer who routinely yelled at residents and called them names;
• Two residents who went for more than a year between required annual medical evaluations;
• One resident who was supposed to receive two showers each week but received only two bed baths in an entire given month;
• Failure to request criminal history background checks for three staffers hired in 2023;
• Lack of a qualified administrator working at the site between Oct. 15 and Dec. 14, 2023, when a staff member received an administrator license.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.
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