Centre County officials give more funding to local nursing home
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Centre County officials are donating $600,000 to a local nursing home, despite the facility not operating at a deficit.
This is not the first time the commissioners donated to Centre Care. Earlier in 2025, the board gave a $900,000 grant to the facility. This new funding for the nursing home is from officials buying a 13,483 acre parcel of land from Centre Care.
Centre Care says they are not operating at a deficit, but keeping over 150 Medicaid beds in use comes with a cost.
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'We lose approximately $115 per bed per day on Medicaid residents and 70% at least of our population being Medicaid, that adds up real fast,' Chair of Centre Care's Board Betsy Boyer said.,
Commissioner Chair Mark Higgins describes this $600,000 check as a 'gentleman's agreement,' with Centre Care being given the chance to buy back the land in the next year or so if 'things go even better for them financially than planned.' In the meantime, he says the county has no plans to do anything with the newly purchased land.
Commissioner Steve Dershem says he has seen other counties struggling to meet the demand for Medicaid beds and does not want Centre County to fall into that group.
'I don't see any time in the future that our area is going to be lowering its population of seniors and other folks that need those services,' Dershem said.
The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA fund. After these large donations, that fund is now dried up. However, the board sees this as a worthy investment. Commissioner Amber Concepcion called the funding 'crucial' to maintaining Centre Care as the 'healthy, thriving' organization it is now.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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