Patty Grove wanted to come home.

The Coal Grove native had spent the last several years working as a nursing home administrator in Cincinnati, but this past June she took over the top spot at Sanctuary of the Ohio Valley in Ironton.

“I saw the job was open and I applied,” she said. “This area is my home and I saw the opportunity and took it.”

Soon after taking the job, renovations began on the outside of the building.

“We are doing a complete remodel on the outside,” Grove said. “We have plans for the inside to get renovated but those plans are a work in progress.”

The facility has 80 or 90 beds, depending on how many residents have private rooms, and Grove said one of her goals is to fill the beds.

“I truly feel we provide the best care in the area,” she said. “Maintaining the strong family like atmosphere here among the residents and the staff is something else I feel strongly about. We really are like family.”

Grove is the daughter of Larry and Ruth Stapleton. She and her husband, David, have three daughters, Tiffany (Grover) Spears, who is an R.N.; Kelli Grove, who works at PNC Bank at King’s Daughters; and Kelsey Grove, a senior at Dawson-Bryant. She also has one grandson, Grover Spears Jr.