NJ Failed Nursing Homes In Coronavirus Crisis: Sen. Pennacchio

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A state senator in the 26th District says New Jersey overlooked its “most vulnerable residents” in the rush to shut down and isolate during the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this week, Sen. Joe Pennacchio called for a bipartisan investigation into the virus’ devastating impact on the state’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, which have reportedly seen about 38 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in New Jersey, despite making up less than 1 percent of the state’s nine million residents.

Pennacchio, a Republican, represents Butler, Fairfield, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Montville, Morris Plains, North Caldwell, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Rockaway Twp., Verona, West Caldwell and West Milford.

According to Pennacchio, New Jersey officials have made several big mistakes while dealing with the viral outbreak. But one of the largest was the New Jersey Department of Health’s order to long-term health facilities, saying they couldn’t deny admission to COVID-19 patients.

The result savaged those facilities, which weren’t prepared for the onslaught, Pennacchio said.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities fall under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey’s Department of Health for regulation and oversight, Pennacchio pointed out.

“It makes no sense to order those facilities to accept all patients, regardless of whether they were COVID-19 infected, and impose a ban on virus testing on patients entering those facilities, yet the department did exactly that,” Pennacchio charged. “Ultimately, it wound up adding to the devastation these long-term nursing homes have experienced.”

Pennacchio continued:

“Although these facilities may look like hospitals, the levels of infection control they employ and their ability to treat the vulnerable populations they serve does not match the care available in a hospital setting. Knowing this, the state’s Department of Health should have stepped up oversight and outreach to these facilities. They should have offered to supply personal protection equipment (PPE) that many nursing homes were lacking. Testing of all residents and staff should have been instituted immediately. Although the state has jurisdiction over testing and labs, it failed to adequately prioritize the limited tests available at the outset for our vulnerable nursing home populations. While many facilities had invested heavily in PPE, it still was not enough.”

Pennacchio said it now appears that the closing of schools, religious intuitions and many businesses “had little effect in allaying the contagion among our nursing care facilities.”

“By advancing a broad shut down and the isolation of every New Jerseyan, the state failed to focus on protecting the most vulnerable people in our population: our elderly residents living in the close quarters of nursing homes,” Pennacchio said.

READ MORE: NJ Coronavirus Updates (Here's What You Need To Know)

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