Two New Jersey veterans homes botched their COVID-19 response as the virus spread among some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, an independent state commission said in a report released on Tuesday that mirrors already-scathing findings from federal investigators.
The findings from the State Commission of Investigation echoed those from the Department of Justice last month that determined veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus were “overwhelmed” in the early months of 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
The watchdog report urged Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Legislature to reassign management of the homes from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to a new oversight agency. More than 200 people who lived or worked at the state-owned homes died from COVID-19, with the vast majority coming from the Menlo Park and Paramus facilities.
“The veterans homes were entirely overwhelmed by massive absenteeism among nurses and other frontline staff in the initial weeks of the pandemic, leaving them unable to provide basic care to residents,” reads the state report.
The report excoriated state officials and facility administrators for failing to implement a “realistic strategy to get employees to report to work or to find replacement staff,” such as by offering competitive pay compared to other facilities. The Menlo Park home saw a 480% jump in employee “call-outs” shortly after the virus started spreading there, per the report.
Employee “call-outs” at the Menlo Park home jumped 480% shortly after the virus began spreading there, per the report.
“Complicating the situation was that employees were genuinely fearful about contracting the highly contagious virus early in the pandemic and concerned about the lack of safeguards to protect them,” the report reads. “Employees told the Commission they feared contracting the virus and bringing it home to loved ones due to inadequate personal protective equipment and scarce testing.”
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