Holmdel Nursing Home Fined Over $22K In COVID-19 Violations

HOLMDEL, NJ - A Holmdel nursing care facility was recently fined over $22,000 for COVID-19 violations following a surprise inspection last month by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Arnold Walter Nursing Rehabilitation Center in Holmdel Township was fined an initial penalty of $22,555, according to a statement from the agency on Nov. 27. According to OSHA, center faces a slew of violations related to face mask regulations and misreporting employee deaths.

Since March, the U.S. Department of Labor agency has issued over $3.3 million in penalties relating to coronavirus safety protocols. The Holmdel elder care facility was named among a dozen establishments fined between Nov. 13 and Nov. 19 for COVID-19-related violations, with than $150,000 in fines issued between the 12 companies.

98 facilities have been cited in New Jersey alone, with six others in Ocean and Monmouth counties.

According to the OSHA website, typical COVID-19 violations include failures to provide a medical evaluation, respirator fit test, lack of training on the proper use of a respirator and personal protective equipment, failure to report an injury, illness or fatality or record an injury or illness on OSHA recordkeeping forms.

The Holmdel nursing home was listed as allegedly violating the following regulations:

• All employers covered by the OSH Act must report to OSHA any work-related incident that results in a fatality, the in-patient hospitalization of one or more employees, an employee amputation or an employee loss of an eye.
• Each employer required by this part to keep records of fatalities, injuries, and illnesses must record each fatality, injury and illness.
• In any workplace where respirators are necessary to protect the health of the employee or whenever respirators are required by the employer, the employer shall establish and implement a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures. The program shall be updated as necessary to reflect those changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use.
• The employer shall provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace. The employer may discontinue an employee's medical evaluations when the employee is no longer required to use a respirator.
• The employer shall ensure that an employee using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator, whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually thereafter.

According to an Asbury Park Press report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports that the elder care center has had 13 confirmed cases among residents and eight resident deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Hackensack Meridian Health System in North Bergen was previously cited earlier this month, facing a penalty of $13,494.

The 202-bed Holmdel nursing home was given a five-star rating from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in its most recent survey. An alert on the nursing home facility’s website reads the site is "providing on-going training to all employees on infectious disease control measures, maintain a sufficient supply of PPE, screen and temp EVERY person coming in and out of the facility, and are strictly adhering to guidance from local, state, and federal agencies."

New Jersey's long-term care facilities continue to be hit hard by the ongoing pandemic, with nearly half of 15,113 lab-confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the state emerging from staff or residents at long-term care facilities.

Related: How NJ Can Stop The COVID Outbreaks In Long-Term Care Facilities