Driver Charged for Causing Multi-Vehicle Crash
Mercer – In Mercer County, one truck driver, Rene Uwimana from Kalamazoo Michigan, was charged with speeding after his involvement in the multi-vehicle crash that closed Interstate 80 for around five hours on Tuesday; authorities say it was his vehicle sliding into another tractor-trailer that caused the mess. Five cars were caught up in the pile-up and three miles of traffic was backed up while crews removed the two semis.
The Southbound lane of Interstate 79 was closed between Edinboro and Saegertwon for a little more than an hour on Thursday after a separate accident involving a tractor-trailer. Details of the crash have not been provided, but PennDOT announced the closure of Interstate 79 between Saegertown and Edinboro just before noon and signaled the all-clear at about 1:15 p.m.
Erie Home Care Agency Owner Charged with Fraud
Erie – Tina Bell, the owner of Erie-based home care agency Superior Health, has been charged with Medicaid fraud and endangering the welfare of care-dependent persons among other crimes. Bell, who lives in Berks County, was arraigned yesterday for fraud, neglect, theft, and more. The Office of Pennsylvania’s Attorney General alleges that Bell received over $1 million in Medicaid funds while providing subpar care with untrained and unqualified caretakers and tried to forge records to hide her company’s misdeeds. Bell is also accused of billing Medicaid for non-medical care provided to residents at shared-care homes.
Sharon Hospital Saga Continues
Sharon – The fate of Sharon Regional Medical Center is still uncertain, even after the purchase offer by Tenor Health Systems. On Wednesday, Medical Properties Trust, owners of the land the facility sits on, claimed that a pending legal battle with Buhl Legacy Trust over the hospital itself is preventing a timely reopening of the facility in cooperation with Tenor. Buhl, who owned the hospital before Community Health Systems, is attempting to retake the property claiming that part of their deal was that CHS would not sell the hospital for at least five years and claims it also invested at least $700,000 in repairs to ensure the hospital could be transferred as part of the bankruptcy sale; they seek to profit from the deal or to gain the hospital’s property.
Mercer County’s Commissioners are holding a closed-door meeting with Penn-Northwest Development Company today after an open meeting about what the county could do in the face of Sharon Regional’s legal mess on Thursday. Thanks to Pennsylvania law, around 700 hospital employees are still guaranteed about one more month of pay and benefits, but many have already found or started looking for new jobs.