State officials have withdrawn an effort to shut down the Windsor Place personal care home in Ross, based on an agreement that has it operating under new management.

The Department of Public Welfare had banned admissions to the 119-bed facility since July, citing concerns over safety in the wake of several incidents in which residents were injured.

Windsor Place owner Lynn Harvey and her brother, Matt Harvey, a co-administrator with her, had contended that department officials had a vendetta against them because they were publicly critical of state regulations. They maintained they had explanations for all of the questionable incidents, and they appealed the state's efforts to remove the facility's license.

Under an agreement approved by welfare officials last Thursday, efforts to remove the license have been dropped, but the Harveys are no longer permitted to run the home they opened 10 years ago. Wells Fargo Bank, which holds a mortgage on the property, signed Grace Management of Minneapolis to manage Windsor Place and to seek a buyer for it.

The bank obtained a court order from Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Robert P. Horgos Sept. 29 declaring Ms. Harvey's firm, Fosnight Harvey Associates, in default on a $4.4 million loan. The order enabled the bank to appoint Grace Management as a receiver, negotiating terms with the welfare department to obtain a new provisional license.

Ms. Harvey, a registered nurse, said the bank forced her to give up control because the mortgage includes a stipulation that the facility must be licensed, and the state was intent on removing that license. Windsor Place has been operating for months while pursuing its appeal, but the ban on admissions was choking its revenue stream, Mr. Harvey said.

"I'm still technically the owner, but Grace will be in there to get the beds filled, and eventually we'll sell the place," Ms. Harvey said. "I am very confident [Grace Management] will do a good job."

Although the ban on admissions is lifted on a facility that had about 40 empty beds, welfare spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said the state's operating agreement with Grace Management includes provisions stricter than for other personal care homes. Windsor Place will have higher standards controlling the number of staff and who can dispense medications, and it will have to move some of its immobile residents because it has too many for a personal care home, Ms. Witalec said.

"So long as the new management company moves forward with successful operation of the facility, they'll remain open," Ms. Witalec said. "If a new buyer takes over the facility, that's all we're looking for. We never want to close a home and have to disrupt people's lives."

The department's actions against the home this year came after citations were issued over the death of a man who fell out of his bed; hospitalization of a resident who allegedly suffered starvation and dehydration; and injuries a woman suffered when knocked down in a shower by a staff member.

The Harveys maintained their innocence, and dozens of residents and residents' relatives wrote to the welfare department supporting the facility as well-run and pleading that it be kept open.

Ms. Witalec has denied the Harveys' accusations that they were targeted for punishment because of an unsuccessful lawsuit they led against new regulations.

Lynn Harvey continues to own Windsor Place of Gibsonia, a second, smaller personal care home that has encountered no problems with the state and is unaffected by the Ross facility's management change.