Heritage Springs in Lewisburg re-issued regular license

Apr. 15—LEWISBURG — A regular license for Heritage Springs Memory Care in Lewisburg has been reissued to the facility from the state.

In a letter dated Monday to the facility at 327 Farley Circle, Juliet Marsala, the deputy secretary of the Department of Human Service's Office of Long-Term Living, states that the provisional license is lifted and the regular license is issued.

As a result of the state's licensing inspections on Jan. 30 and the correction made under new administrator Emily Anthony, the state found Heritage Springs to be in compliance with the Pennsylvania Code relating to Personal Care Homes. Anthony is also the executive director of Heritage Springs Memory Care in Montoursville.

The re-issued license is valid until April 15, 2025.

The state Department of Health revoked Heritage Springs's certificate of compliance in August following dozens of violations over the last several inspections before new leadership. DHS had issued a provisional license to the facility.

Heritage Springs Memory Care in Lewisburg is the location where two teenage employees were arrested in July for alleged extensive elder abuse. Tammy Speece, the former executive director at Heritage Springs, is no longer listed as the administrator in the state paperwork. Anthony is listed in her place.

The state's licensing inspection summary shows that Heritage Springs in Lewisburg had 14 minor violations during the January inspection. This included inspection reports not posed in a conspicuous and public place in the home, batteries needing to be replaced in a carbon monoxide detector, contracts for patients that needed to be updated, hand sanitizer and two containers of Clorox wipes unlocked in cabinets, updated verbiage in a resident's assessment and support plan, unlabeled food in the kitchen freezer, accumulated lint in an unused dryer, inadequate fire drills, loose cigarette butts near the home's designated smoking area, a loose terry cloth bath towel, inadequately dated food menu, and discontinued or unavailable medication for residents.

The state accepted the plan of correction for all violations on March 14 and reissued the regular license on Monday, according to the state.

Former resident aide Madison Laine Cox, of Montgomery, and an unidentified male resident assistant who was a minor at the time of arrest were charged by Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department with taking numerous nude and demeaning photographs and videos of 17 residents between December 2022 and April 2023 at the facility. Cox was 18 and the male employee 17 when the charges were filed in July.

Union County Judge Michael Piecuch rejected a plea deal for Cox on Monday. Cox in February pleaded guilty to 12 misdemeanors: one count of criminal conspiracy to commit abuse of a care-dependent person and 11 counts of abuse of a care-dependent person.

In November, the unidentified male was adjudicated in Union County Court on 17 of the 34 counts and his disposition was transferred to his home county in Lycoming County. Adjudication for a juvenile is the functional equivalent of being found guilty in an adult criminal procedure. A disposition hearing in juvenile court is akin to a sentencing hearing in adult court.

The juvenile, now 18, was sentenced on Thursday in front of Lycoming County Judge Ryan M. Tira, but the judge would not release the sentencing results for the defendant. Due to being charged as a minor, the court proceedings are not open to the public and The Daily Item does not print the names of juvenile defendants unless charged as an adult.