Prairie Manor Care Center in Blooming Prairie has created quite a stir. Earlier this year, it suddenly fired its administrator and several other staff without explanation. Months later, the replacement administrator, Sue Johnson, left the company with conflicting reports as to whether she resigned or was fired.

Burke

The dust had hardly settled when the care center made another big move.

The board of directors of Prairie Manor has cut its management consultant, Burke Management Co., and rehired Johnson as administrator. The move came last week following concerns from the board.

“The board of directors of Prairie Manor and Burke Management have determined this nursing facility’s best interests require that its business relationship with Burke Management be ended,” the board wrote in a news release Friday.

Johnson did not return calls for comment.

Burke Management began working as a management consultant for Prairie Manor and its assisted living facility Heather Haus in January. The news release cited problems between the two companies.

“The board believes that Burke Management’s approach to the operation of Prairie Manor was inconsistent with its vision for the future of this facility,” the board said. Prairie Manor did not predict the events would cause any interruption in service to the care of its residents.

Jeff Kritzer, attorney for Burke Management Co., confirmed it would no longer be managing the company and had no further comment.

Johnson said in June she was forced to resign from her role after she spoke with board members about concerns over how little authority she had. Deidra Burke of Burke Management reportedly told her that was not going to change. Burke said she was accepting Johnson’s resignation, even though Johnson said she never tendered any.

Burke took over administrative duties after Johnson left the company.

Johnson left months after Mark Robinson, the previous administrator, was fired in January. Robinson, who had worked at the nursing home for 14 years, was terminated at the same time as Assistant Director of Nursing Pam Fate and Assistant Administrator Jennifer Milton.

Robinson’s wife, Cindy, was also fired. She worked as a housekeeper at Heather Haus, an apartment building run by Prairie Manor, and filed a lawsuit against Prairie Manor. She recently reached an undisclosed settlement.