While the fate of the licensing of the county retirement facility is in the hands of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, its budget will be debated by County Council on Monday.

Wednesday morning, Nursing Home Administrator Les Parks, Medical Director Dr. Michael Bernardo and County Administrator Wayne Adams met with DHEC about a recent inspection that resulted in J.F. Hawkins and Springfield Place being placed in immediate jeopardy of losing its license.

“(DHEC) will review the info Mr. Parks and Dr. Bernardo provided and advise us in the days ahead as to their decision/recommendation,” Adams wrote in an e-mail.

The county facility is currently not allowed to take on new Medicare and Medicaid residents and a fine, retroactive to Feb. 20, has been levied on the facility.

The serious sanctions come from the nursing home facility not having proper protocol during a brief hunt for a missing resident and during an outbreak of an intestinal virus. J.F. Hawkins Nursing Home and Springfield Place share a budget and an operating license.

The joint facilities were written up for more than 20 infractions, including not having foods hot enough and sexual contact between residents.

While county leaders await word on the outcome of the hearing, members of County Council will review the 2009-2010 budget for the nursing home.

The budget and finance committee will review the revenues and expenditures of the nursing home during a meeting Monday at 6 p.m. The nursing home facility has battled with breaking even financially, and budget cuts led to recent discussions of borrowing money from the county. The budget and finance meeting will be held in the conference room of the Courthouse Annex and is open to the public.