More NJ Nursing Home Failures: 92 Have No Coronavirus Test Plan

NEW JERSEY - Ninety-two – or 13 percent – of New Jersey's long-term care facilities have failed to comply with the mandate to provide new coronavirus testing plans to the New Jersey Department of Health, officials said. The compliance mandate comes on the heels of a rising tide of criticism being level at Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration in their handling of the pandemic in long-term care facilities.

Two reports signaled that the administration reacted too slowly in responding to the epidemic, and that Murphy and his subordinates have since not done enough to stem the continual rising tide of infections.

Out of the 678 long-term care facilities in the Garden State, 586 complied with the mandate to provide new COVID-19 testing plans, officials said.

"The department is calling administrators of the facilities that have not complied with this requirement," Commissioner Judy Persichilli said during Wednesday's COVID-19 briefing.

Persichilli said that the testing plans were key to safeguarding New Jersey's most vulnerable populations, of which long-term care facilities are included. The mandate was that each facility provide an attestation that their outbreak plans include testing for residents and staff.

"For long-term care facilities that need testing materials, the state has shipped 90,000 test kits to the county office of emergency management which will be available to long-term care facilities," Persichilli said.

During the news conference, Persichilli did not address a NJ Advance Media report that says New Jersey failed to react fast enough or take aggressive actions to slow the horrible outbreak in long-term care facilities, where 40 percent of the state's coronavirus deaths have taken place.

Another report from The Record said that the Murphy administration failed to heed warnings about long-term care facilities leaving many overwhelmed.

Yet, another report about a Warren County facility revealed a woman who fight to save her father from what she says was not only mismanagement of his care.

Infamously, Andover Rehabilitation and Subacute Care set up a "makeshift morgue" to deal with an overflow of bodies over Easter weekend. The facility, which had numerous complaints and penalties levied at it in the past was recently fined $220,000 and is now being sued by families of patients.

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Murphy is also facing criticism from Senator Joseph Pennacchio, who is calling for a Senate Select Committee to investigate the Executive Branch’s handling of the pandemic after a report the Administration has altered the total of COVID-related nursing home deaths.

Read more: NJ Changes Nursing Home Death Totals; Sen. Pennacchio Cries Foul

“It is a disturbing and ineffective attempt to cover up the extent of an ongoing tragedy that has wreaked havoc in nursing homes,” said Pennacchio after a published report that the state had altered its accounting of virus deaths in senior facilities.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health slashed the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by 1,400, dropping the “official” number from 5,700 to 4,295.

“The Administration has yet to explain the disastrous policies that led to carnage among the vulnerable and fragile senior population that had been literally held captive in under-prepared facilities so somebody decided to cook the books and erase the loss of almost 1,500 precious souls,” said Pennacchio.

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