CLINTON, Ky. (AP) - Inspectors found eight deficiencies during a review of Birchtree Healthcare, at the center of an investigation into accusations that Gov. Paul Patton helped the owner while they were having an affair then retaliated when she ended the relationship.

Birchtree manager Dan Dabney said the state and federal inspectors' findings threaten the nursing home's application to be recertified to care for patients on Medicaid and Medicare, and he will appeal. He told The Paducah Sun that none of the deficiencies pose an immediate threat to the health or safety of residents.

The nursing home is owned by Tina Conner, who has accused Patton of ordering inspectors to crack down on the nursing home in retaliation for her ending a sexual affair with Patton. She said the crackdown resulting in the nursing home's losing its certification and drove it into bankruptcy.

Patton has acknowledged the affair but denied using his office to help or hurt Conner.

Dabney accused inspectors Thursday of continuing to be unfair to the nursing home because of Conner's battle with the governor, which includes a sexual harassment lawsuit she filed last month. He said inspectors didn't follow proper procedures by waiting until the entire inspection was completed before determining that there were deficiencies.

Dabney said the Cabinet for Health Services issued a news release at 3:30 p. m. saying the inspection was complete and that deficiencies were found. However, he said the inspectors didn't meet to determine whether there were deficiencies until later in the day.

"This is further evidence that Birchtree Healthcare has been and continues to be subjected to harassment, intimidation and fabrication by the agencies under director control of Gov. Paul Patton," Dabney said.

The cabinet would not comment on the latest inspection or acknowledge that eight deficiencies were found. It said in the afternoon news release that the findings were preliminary and subject to further review before they become final.

While Dabney said he didn't dispute some of the findings, he disagrees with their level of seriousness.

Dabney said the deficiencies found included:

A nurse caring for a resident wore the same gloves to remove a bandage that she wore while rubbing Vaseline on the resident's feet. He said the inspectors gave that a rating that indicates that it is a sterilization problem that is widespread in the nursing home.

It was an isolated incident and a mistake made by a nurse who has been out of school for only three months, Dabney said.

The nursing home did not have proper staffing on three days. Dabney said that was caused by the illnesses of two nurse's aides on the same days. The staff did not investigate a bruise that was found on a resident's leg. Dabney said the bruise was from an incident when the resident was in the hospital. He said it was properly investigated and reported when the resident returned to the nursing home. The staff failed to identify that a resident was missing several teeth. Dabney said the staff did identify the problem and had immediately changed the resident's diet to softer food.

Dabney said that if the levels of deficiencies aren't changed in the final report that he anticipates receiving in a few days, he'll ask for an informal review of the findings. If that isn't successful, he said he will file a formal appeal.

The Cabinet for Health Services said Birchtree won't be eligible for recertification until it has two clean inspections in a two-month period.