Former nursing home boss rips staff, union

The John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Yaphank lost its fifth administrator this year, this one after only two weeks. Before Mel Hitt left the job, he lambasted the "mindset" of the staff as "entitled" and said civil service rules make discipline "cumbersome" and "obstructs the ability to hire well-qualified people." The Levy administration hired ex-New York City police captain Kevin Carey on a contract that pays him $16,000 a month until the county closes the 264-bed facility March 31.

Rejection of the proposed $36-million Suffolk nursing home sale last week also will leave the firm Loeb and Troper, which consulted on the deal, without a $620,000 commission. - Rick Brand