Feds Investigating New Jersey Over Nursing Home COVID-19 Deaths

NEW JERSEY — Federal authorities are launching a civil rights investigation into the high number of deaths at two Veterans nursing homes run by New Jersey, and the state is questioning the timing of the investigation.

In an Oct. 27 letter to Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito and Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband accuse the governor and his administration of understating deaths at the New Jersey Memorial Veterans Homes in Menlo Park and Paramus.

A review of publicly available information has also led federal authorities to determine that "the quality of medical care at these nursing homes has been deficient."

In its investigation, the federal government will be looking into whether the state is violating the rights of veterans by "failing to provide them adequate medical care generally, and during the coronavirus pandemic in particular."

"If appropriate, we will offer technical assistance on ways to address any identified deficiencies in the provision of medical care at Veterans Homes," officials said in their letter.

The Murphy administration reacted strongly to the announcement.

"The fact that this request from the Department of Justice was announced a week before Election Day speaks volumes about the nature of the review," Michael Zhadanovksy, a spokesperson for the Office of the Governor, said. "From the beginning of the pandemic, the State of New Jersey has relied on CDC guidance from the federal government to protect the residents of our veterans homes. We do not comment on the substance of investigative inquiries and will respond through the appropriate channels in due course."

As of Monday, 81 residents at the Paramus facility and 62 residents in Menlo Park have died, according to the state's website. One staff member at each site has died. There were no current cases in either Menlo Park or Paramus, but on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs confirmed there is one active case at the Paramus home. Families were told that all visits were canceled or 28 days.

On Monday, there are a total of 130 test results pending between the two homes.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there were 200 confirmed cases at the Paramus home, which has 200 residents; and 181 confirmed cases in Menlo Park, which has 177 residents. Two Menlo Park residents have been hospitalized.

On Aug. 26, federal authorities requested information about coronavirus-related deaths at the state's nursing homes, according to the letter. On Sept. 9, the state referred them to its website, which Carpenito and Dreiband said didn't contain all the requested information.

If no wrongdoing is found, the investigation will be closed. However, if the federal government concludes that there are violations, it will identify any measures needed to correct the violations.

This news comes after a leadership shakeup at state-run veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park earlier this month.

Embattled Paramus Veterans Home CEO Matthew Schottlander and Menlo Park CEO Elizabeth Schiff Heedles are no longer in those roles, according to a news release from Gov. Phil Murphy, at the time.

Though Murphy didn't specifically indicate why the moves were made, they followed a series of damning revelations from the veterans homes.

In August, Northjersey.com reported that federal inspectors determined the home's coronavirus response was so riddled with negligence and incompetence that all residents and staff were found to be in "immediate jeopardy" of contracting COVID-19.

Emails from the report showed Schottlander actively tried to dismiss staff concerns which would keep them away from the home, which had become overrun by the virus, according to Northjersey.com.

On Tuesday, Murphy announced 1,663 new positive cases of the coronavirus statewide and 14 new deaths, all of which occurred in the last nine days.

With reporting by Montana Samuels