While several University students wait to see if their dialysis unit will be saved, state officials continue questioning the unit's spending practices.

Too many questions remain for the project to be funded, including how the unit's administrators spent nearly $333,000 of Office of Vocational Rehabilitation money, said Gil Selders, OVR's executive director in the state Department of Labor and Industry.

Of that $333,000, administrators spent $89,000 on dialysis machines and the rest on renovation and architectural fees, Selders said, including $2,800 for draperies, $11,000 for furniture and $2,700 for artwork.

But John McQueary, the unit's chief executive officer, said they spent about $105,000 on dialysis equipment and were justified in making other purchases to provide a decent atmosphere for the students.

"We bought appropriate furniture so they could sit down, they could work at the desk . . . what is so unusual about that?" McQueary said.

Other costs included lighting, heating and windows, McQueary said, adding that draperies were needed to ensure privacy.

Selders also questioned why $225,000 of state money -- to be given in conjunction with the OVR grant -- never materialized.

Sue Grimm, deputy press secretary for Gov. Robert P. Casey's budget office, said that because the unit is privately owned, it could not be funded as a capital budget project.

"Legally, (money) cannot be released for that project," Grimm said.

But at the program's beginning, unit administrators believed they could submit a line-item request, McQueary said.

Selders also questioned the unit's ownership and rent payment procedure.

The Boalsburg Medical Group Joint Venture -- the organization that owns the floor -- consists of five people who work at Internal Medicine Associates of State College Professional Corporation, McQueary said. He considered purchasing a fraternity house, but instead chose the current location, he added.

The unit's administrators rent from the group for about $55,000 a year, he said.

McQueary said he advocated purchasing the plan despite the fact that the unit's owners also work at the facility.

"I had no choice . . . if I was going to have a place to call a dialysis unit, I had to find a place to rent . . . what's the difference?" McQueary said.

Selders also pointed out that because Centre Community Hospital provides dialysis treatment, the unit duplicates services.

"Is it essential -- is it necessary? The answer to that is 'no,' " Selders said.

But one student maintained that the unit has unique qualities.

Steve Katona (graduate-rehabilitation education) said the unit is both private and easily accessible.

"Lots of times you feel bad coming off the dialysis machine," Katona said. After treatment, patients needed only to go upstairs to their residences.

The unit also provided other convenient services, such as an educational coordinator.

But Selders also questioned the program's promotion.

McQueary admitted that promotion and recruitment for the unit could have been better, but added that unstable funding hampered those efforts.