Sussex County Nursing Home Coronavirus Cases, Deaths Released

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ — State officials began breaking down the impact of the new coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic long-term care facilities Monday, and in Sussex County, that means 185 cases.

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Those are some of the numbers revealed Monday when the state Department of Health released information on all nursing facilities in New Jersey who have reported at least one case of the coronavirus.

The listing comes after weeks of requests for the information and repeated warnings from the state to the owners and managers of long-term care facilities about their need to report that information to patients, employees and patients' families, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Monday.

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. The 185 cases are spread among five facilities. There have been 49 deaths at these facilities as reported by the New Jersey Department of Health on Monday.

The largest outbreak in Sussex County was at Andover Subacute and Rehab Center II. The report shows that 106 cases were logged there and out of those there were 31 deaths.

The facility has recorded dozens of positive coronavirus cases, but the cause of death for the deceased has not been confirmed. This is not the first time this particular facility has come under scrutiny, according to inspection reports.

Over the past three years the overall rating for Andover Subacute and Rehab II is one star, placing it "much below average." The health inspection during that time brought up five citations and also saw the facility one star. The health inspection star rating is based on each active provider's current health inspection survey and the two prior surveys, as well as findings from the most recent three years of complaints information and inspection revisits, records note.

The records also indicated that many of the health violations were the result of complaints to the survey agency.

Records show the facility was also found deficient in:

• telling residents, the resident's doctor, and a family member's of situations, such as injury or decline, that affect the resident.
• honoring the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment
• ensuring services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality
• ensuring that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.

Here are the facilities in Sussex County that have patients positive for the coronavirus, along with deaths (in parentheses) 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:

• Barn Hill Care Center: 8 (0)
• Homestead Rehabilitation and Health Care Center: 25 (4)
• Valley View Rehabilitation and Health Care Center: 18 (6)
• Andover Subacute and Rehab Center I: 28 (8)
• Andover Subacute and Rehab Center II: 106 (31)

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.

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