Camden County Officials 'Horrified' By Nursing Home Deaths

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Camden County officials say they are “horrified” by the loss of life at nursing homes in the county, and they have taken over random inspections of these homes from state officials during the new coronavirus pandemic.

Officials were reacting to numbers from the New Jersey Department of Health that show 51 residents of long-term care facilities in the county have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That's 16 percent of the total number of county residents who have contracted the virus.

Comparatively, 4 percent of the total number of county residents who have contracted the virus have died as a result of the coronavirus, but 63 percent of those cases are associated with long-term care facilities.

Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli called the number of deaths “unacceptable,” and said they must not continue to grow at four times the overall rate.

He also said that while the facilities will be held accountable, the more important thing at this point in time is to help the nursing homes stem the tide of the virus, and make them safer for residents and staff.

“The spread of this insidious virus is hard to stop in these high-density facilities, but the county health team will go above and beyond to strengthen LTCs and make them safer,” Capelli said.

Fourteen nursing homes have been impacted, and 322 residents at these facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. There are 56 long-term care facilities in the county.

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As of Sunday, there have been 2,015 total positive cases of the coronavirus reported throughout Camden County, with 80 deaths, according to numbers provided by county officials.

In Camden County, officials said they have taken over random inspections of all county facilities from the state. The county health department is auditing and inspecting operations at all nursing homes in which at least two cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed. As of Monday morning, there were 14 facilities with at least two cases.

They discovered that the facilities were “severely underprepared” for the outbreak, with either a lack of testing or no testing at all, a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and a shortage of staff across the board.

“At this juncture, we have completed several inspections and the county Office of Emergency management has also delivered thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to these facilities,” Cappelli Jr. said. “We are horrified by the loss of life that has occurred in these institutions and will be working with them to confront the spread of the virus head on.”

The random visits are also being used to enforce compliance in procedure and protocol.

“These basic operational compliances are the cornerstone of stopping the spread of the virus, which is what the department is keenly focused on,” Cappelli said. “We are working with them to correct any actions that contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in their respective facilities, and we are extending our services to try to help them with PPE, testing and the ensuring the safety of residents and staff.”

Beginning Monday, county officials said they will include number of deaths at nursing homes in their daily number of coronavirus cases and fatalities.

The state has a dashboard set up that tracks the number of cases statewide, including how many cases and fatalities involve long-term care facilities.

Statewide, 10,500 cases of the coronavirus have been identified at 420 long-term care facilities. There have been 1,730 deaths at these facilities, or about 17 percent, with the most egregious case documented at the Andover Subacute & Rehab Center Two, where police removed 17 bodies from the facility last week. Read more here: ‘Makeshift Morgue’ Nursing Home In NJ Had Violations, Complaints

Out of 782 residents at veterans homes statewide, there have been 145 positive cases, with 57 deaths and 32 hospitalizations. Seventy of the 1,331 staff at veterans homes have tested positive for the virus. There have been seven deaths at psychiatric hospitals statewide.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

With reporting by Karen Wall