Nursing Homes At Forefront Of Ocean County Coronavirus Focus

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — The new coronavirus has significantly impacted Ocean County's nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Sixty-one people have died from the virus at longterm-care facilities (LTCFs) in the county as of Friday.

LTCFs have recently been at the forefront of public attention regarding the coronavirus in New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy criticized last week an Andover facility that had more than a dozen bodies removed from a "makeshift morgue." Seventy have died at the North Jersey nursing home, according to the New York Times.

State officials began publicly releasing data Monday of cases and deaths at New Jersey LTCFs. Cases are self-reported and don't reflect real-time data. The listing comes after weeks of requests for the information and repeated warnings from the state to the owners and managers of longterm care facilities about the need to report information, according to Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

More than 173,000 Ocean County residents are "older adults," and a large portion of them live in LTCFs, says Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari. So the issue of COVID-19 at LTCFs has been a major focus for the Ocean County Health Department.

The OCHD conferenced with state health organizations March 11 to strategize ways to protect high-risk residents. The department also formed a team assigned to work directly with longterm-care facilities in Ocean County.

Each team now has five staff, including four nurses and an epidemiologist, to work directly with all of Ocean County's LTCFs. The county has 35 nursing homes and 19 assisted-living facilities.

The teams liaise with each facility daily, making sure they are conducting the required reporting requirements to the New Jersey Department of Health who licenses and regulates these facilities. The OCHD's daily communication confirms from the facility administration if they have the necessary staffing and supplies needed to protect residents and staff.

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"We are also working to provide channels to state and local authorities and coordinating efforts with the Ocean County Senior Services Department," said OCHD Public Health Coordinator Daniel Regenye. :One of their biggest needs that the OCHD has been able to assist with, and directly provide, is personal protection equipment."

It is critical that the facilities have, and are following, all recommended guidance from the Center for Disease Control. Ensuring patients are properly handled, protecting the healthcare worker in the facility, trying to prevent the spread to others and discussing how facilities are handling joint meal service are just a few of the scenarios that are being addressed.

As of Friday, there have been more than 740 patients and at least 38 caretakers sick with the coronavirus in Ocean County. State officials have reported 5,444 cases and 260 deaths overall in the county as of Friday afternoon.

“There are a unique set of challenges and barriers that these facilities have been trying to contain and limit the spread of the disease," said Freeholder Gerry P. Little, "and the Ocean County Health Department is assisting them whichever way they can.”

If a resident has a high level concern related to licensure or regulatory matters not being followed by the LTCF, he or she should contact the New Jersey Department of Health Long Term Care Facility Complaint Hotline at 800-792-9770.

The OCHD is also providing a general COVID-19 Information Call Hot Line for residents and clinicians to answer questions regarding the coronavirus at 732-341-9700 ext. 7411.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know