Barnwell County Council has signed a letter of intent to enter into negotiations to potentially sell the county nursing home.

The news was announced during a March 2 council meeting after executive session.

UHS-Pruitt is a Southeastern nursing home operator and long-term care provider.

Few details can be released as UHS-Pruitt is in the due diligence process, said Councilman Keith Sloan, but Council was impressed with the offer.

He said there were three bidders for the Barnwell County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and UHS-Pruitt made the best proposal.

There is a commitment from UHS-Pruitt to keep the staff and not cut services, said Sloan.

Selling the nursing home was one of the recommendations of Stroudwater Associates, the health care consulting firm which has been assessing the area's health care.

The following business was also conducted during the meeting.

• Passed a resolution concerning the Savannah River Site in support of the Community Reuse Organization which expresses discontent with the closing of Yucca Mountain in Nevada to nuclear waste.

Aiken County has filed a law suit against the federal government because it will have no place to ship nuclear waste from SRS.

Sloan suggested Barnwell County examine joining the lawsuit.

The costs - and the positive and negative aspects of joining the lawsuit - were sent to the scientific, technical and regulatory committee for discussion.

• Passed a recommendation concerning Road Project 2010.

Council will enter into a contract with a new engineering firm to design roads for future projects.

• Approved the purchase of a new vehicle for the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office.

This allows Barnwell County Sheriff Ed Carroll to purchase a new low-mileage vehicle and pass his current vehicle down to someone else in the fleet, said Sloan.

Money for the vehicle comes from DSS funds that the sheriff's office makes by serving papers, said Sloan.

• Barnwell County Coroner Lloyd Ward reported the coroner's office handled 138 cases in 2009 - a 19 percent increase from 2008.

The following data is from Ward's report.

Of the 138 cases, most were from natural deaths.

However, 18 were accidental with eight attributed to vehicle collision.

The other 10 were six overdoses by prescribed drugs; an on-the-job injury that resulted in death; a hypothermia related death; and the other two by other means.

There were three suicides and three homicides in 2009.

While vehicle deaths were down by two from 2008, Ward said, total accidental deaths were up by five in 2009.

He said his office has seen an increase in prescription drug abuse with a rise in deaths attributed to it.