Former nursing home administrator on stand

As a witness for the plaintiff, a former administrator of Seneca Health and Rehabilitation took the stand this afternoon in the Common Pleas courtroom. At the start of her testimony, Pamela Smith of Seneca was answering questions about her time as administrator and about the chain of command within the national nursing home company called Sava Senior Care. Smith told plaintiff’s lawyer Kenneth Connor that the reason she later allowed her nursing home administrator’s license to expire was her decision to no longer do that kind of work. Earlier today the jury heard witnesses reading from the depositions of others—including the corporate secretary for Sava Senior Care. Licensed as a 132-bed facility on Tokeena Road near Seneca, the nursing home is contesting allegations of medical malpractice in the death of 87-year old Walhalla resident Dororthy Reynolds in 2011. The trial, which began last week, is expected to run at least until Friday of this week, perhaps longer.