Warren Co. Nursing Home COVID-19 Death Totals Up

WARREN COUNTY, NJ - As the COVID-19, pandemic in nursing home and long-term care facilities continues to claim more lives, Gov. Phil Murphy's administration said testing of staff and residents for COVID-19 by May 26.

Gov. Phil Murphy, speaking during a Tuesday news conference, said a "robust" coronavirus testing and contact tracing plan needed for reopening New Jersey's economy, he says. The plan includes testing all residents and staff at long-term care facilities. It will require all residents and staff at long-term care facilities to be tested no later than May 26, with follow-up testing happening no longer than one week later.

Previously, Murphy said the nursing home and long-term care industry have been "slow to adapt."

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. In Warren County there are 489 cases spread among the seven impacted facilities. There have been 93 deaths at these facilities as reported by the New Jersey Department of Health on Monday.

The largest outbreak in Warren County was at Brakeley Park. The report shows that 123 cases were logged there and out of those there were 22 deaths.

According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services records, Brakeley Park carries an overall four star above average rating. The facility holds an average health inspection rating with lower citations than the New Jersey average and an average staffing rating. Their quality measures rating earned top marks with five stars.

Here are the facilities in Warren County that have patients positive for the coronavirus, followed by the deaths that have happened at those facilities. The list of facilities was provided by the state Department of Health; there may be discrepancies due to a delay in communications between the facilities and the state:

• Phillipsburg Center, 1, 0
• The House of The Good Shepherd, 45, 9
• Warren Haven Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, 61, 10
• Lopatcong Center, 114, 16
• The Chelsea at Brookfield, 47, 16
• Forest Manor Health Care Center, 97, 17
• Brakeley Park, 123, 22

Julie Ball's 84-year-old father was dehydrated, had pneumonia and was in kidney failure when he arrived at Hackettstown Hospital from Forest Manor Health Care Center. He also had COVID-19, and Ball was told nothing by the nursing home. Read more here:'NJ Woman Fights Nursing Home To Save Father From COVID-19'

Statewide, 26,476 cases of the coronavirus have been identified at 518 long-term care facilities. There have been 4,953 deaths at these facilities, 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

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