By JOE MAY | The Southern Standard
A Pike County nursing home has been shuttered by the state over allegations of missing money and other financial mismanagement.
The Murfreesboro Nursing and Rehab Inc.’s license was revoked in May 2026 by the Arkansas Department of Human Services after an investigation revealed several instances of financial misconduct. In addition, Administrator Sandra Barnett’s license was revoked following a May 4 inspection of the business by the Office of Long Term Care.
Due to the revocation of the licenses, employee David Miller was appointed acting head to oversee the removal of the home’s 35 residents to other facilities throughout the area.
The problems allegedly began on July 30, 2025, when mail belonging to a resident was opened and the resident’s $56,481 check was removed and deposited into the facility’s bank account. An audit of the home showed that at the time the check was deposited, the home’s account balance was $16.83. When asked about the check, Barnett allegedly told authorities that the resident owed the money to the nursing home.
The resident was aware the funds were taken, and continually asked staff about the whereabouts of his funds. An investigation showed that the administrator was unable to produce any proof that the patient owed the money to the facility. At this point, paperwork in the case, posted online, states that Barnett agreed to reimburse the victim at the rate of $1,000 per week, saying that depositing the funds was a mistake.
Documents in the case state that the check was made payable to the resident rather than the facility and that other staff members knew of the funds being deposited in the home’s account. An additional investigation revealed that funds from the business were deposited in Barnett’s personal bank account.
In addition, records revealed that each resident who participated in bingo at the facility had an envelope in the office with their winnings in them. An investigation revealed that cash was missing from numerous residents’ envelopes and could not be accounted for.
In another alleged financial misstep, a family member of one resident was said to have used another resident’s debit card without authorization.
State law requires that a nursing home have designated individuals serving as a governing body for the facility.
“It appears no one is responsible for the management of the facility,” the DHS letter noted. Instead of a group, the paperwork indicated that as owner, Barnett admitted in writing that she was “the sole governing body” of the business and was responsible for all banking and financial decisions.
The home was also cited for failing to report any alleged violations within 24 hours as required by law. This included the resident’s missing funds.
A letter hand-delivered to Barnett stated that her license was being revoked because she had allegedly committed misappropriation and abuse as defined by Arkansas State Code Ann. 12-12-1703(7)(A). Following the delivery of the letter on May 20 informing Barnett of the revocation of her license, she was escorted off the premises by authorities that afternoon.
A complaint investigation into the home on Nov. 14 reported that Barnett, as early as June 2025, had been transferring the entire monthly balance from the trust funds of six residents into the facility’s bank accounts. This totaled $6,828.
Barnett allegedly told inspectors on Sept. 26 that she only kept proper ledgers for two residents. For the other four, she wrote $40 allowance checks to their representatives from the facility’s operation account rather than their trust funds.
Barnett told inspectors that she had no written consent to mix residents’ personal funds with facility accounts. She said the home never issued quarterly statements showing residents or family members how their money was being used. She allegedly told inspectors that she was not familiar with federal regulations governing resident trust funds. Further, of the six residents’ accounts, only two had written ledgers tracking how the money was distributed to residents.
Published reports have also alleged that employees lately had not received steady paychecks. The closure of the home reportedly affects about 50 workers.
This article was republished with permission from The Southern Standard, a weekly newspaper in Amity, Arkansas, serving Clark and Pike counties.
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