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Northampton County official says Gracedale overspent ARPA funds; council demands answers
Summary
County executive presented findings from an internal review of Gracedale nursing home spending, describing high overtime, agency-staff costs and delayed Medicaid reimbursements; council members called for an executive session and criticized communication and oversight.
Lamont McClure, county executive, told Northampton County Council on June 5 that an internal review of Gracedale Nursing and Rehabilitation Center found excessive agency staffing and overtime spending in 2024 that contributed to a budget shortfall.
McClure said the county received an invoice for $75,000 that he called “a scam,” and described how American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars flowed into the county general fund and then to Gracedale without legally or administratively earmarking specific line items. “Because the money was not earmarked, it was spent to pay monthly operating expenses, especially excessive agency costs and overtime without my knowledge,” McClure said.
The report presented to council singled out high patient-per-day (PPD) nursing-hour levels in 2024 and extensive agency usage. McClure said the PPD target was 3.4 hours but climbed to about 3.8–3.9 in 2024; he said that overuse of agency staff…
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