CHEMED Failed To Protect Nurses From Coronavirus: OSHA

LAKEWOOD, NJ — CHEMED, the medical facility in Lakewood, has been cited for "willful violations" of safety procedures that put its staff at risk of contracting the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSHA said it's the second time CHEMED has been cited during the pandemic, and has proposed a $273,064 fine after an investigation that started in January in response to a complaint.

"This is an unresolved matter that is still in process at the moment so we don't have any comment," a woman in the business office at CHEMED said Thursday. The woman did not identify herself and hung up after making the statement.

CHEMED, which stands for Center for Education Medicine and Dentistry, is the business name of Lakewood Resource and Referral Center Inc., the entity OSHA cited.

Lakewood Resource and Referral Center Inc. contracted with Homecare Therapies – doing business as Horizon Healthcare Staffing – in October 2020 for temporary nurses to assist staff with the administration of flu vaccines initially. After the assignments began, the facility required nurses to administer 200 to 300 coronavirus tests each day for patients and the public, OSHA said.

OSHA officials said the investigation found CHEMED required the nurses to wear N95 masks but did not make sure the masks fit properly and did not check to see whether each nurse was medically able to wear one before requiring the masks.

Investigators also found Homecare Therapies, a temporary staffing agency that CHEMED had a contract with, failed to ensure medical evaluations were done and did not provide fit tests for nurses required to use respirators, officials said.

Homecare Therapies was cited for two serious problems at its location in Manalapan, with $13,653 in proposed penalties, OSHA said.

CHEMED also was cited in October 2020 for the same issues after an investigation prompted by the death of one of its pediatricians from COVID-19, according to OSHA records. CHEMED is contesting the violations in the 2020 citation, the records say.

"A safe and healthful workplace is every worker’s right and every employer’s responsibility," said Paula Dixon-Roderick, OSHA Area Office Director in Marlton. "In this case, both employers failed to protect vital frontline health care workers from exposure to the coronavirus."

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