Sounding The Alarm: Morris County Needs Medical Professionals

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - Morris County is putting out an emergency call for Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses and medical professionals who are available during the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, health crisis to sign up for paid openings at healthcare facilities across Morris County. The goal is to find qualified medical personnel to hire immediately.

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The County Office of Emergency Management has created Operation Save-a-Life, which will develop a roster of available medical personnel and provide that list to healthcare facilities, or for home health care providers, that are short-staffed due to the virus and in dire need of employment help.

“Nursing homes, assisted living, long-term care, and rehabilitation facilities across Morris County are working hard to take care of their patients and residents. But many are desperately in need of qualified people and struggling to fill staff shortages that are making it difficult to maintain a quality level of care for patients in need,” said Morris County Emergency Management Director Jeff Paul. "Now more than ever we need to sound the alarm and do our best to support our healthcare facilities who are working hard to keep their patients safe and to help save their lives."

To sign up qualified medical personnel are asked to call the Morris County Office of Emergency Management at (973) 829-8600.

If you do not speak directly with a call taker and get the OEM voice mail recording, please leave your name, contact number and medical certification, Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, etc., and of the Office of Emergency Management staff members will return your phone call within 48 hours, officials said.

"We are talking about protecting some of our most vulnerable people, our senior citizens and disabled residents, many are older veterans or former police and firemen who long ago served on the front lines protecting us; now they need our help," said Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon.

County OEM officials have spoken to healthcare providers across Morris County to identify this need, and are reaching out to RNs, LPNs, and others in the medical field to see if they can match the need with available personnel. Those who are hired would be paid directly by the individual facility.

"Please, we need your help right now," said Morris County Freeholder Director Deborah Smith. "On behalf of all Morris County residents, we ask you to consider filling this great need."

The New Jersey Firemen’s Home, located in Boonton, is one example of a facility that needs help caring for its 62 patients/firefighters, who are in danger of possibly having to be moved from their safe location due to a lack of staff.

“We love our firemen, and we don’t want them to leave our facility, but at the same time, we need to make sure that they are provided with the same level of exceptional care that they are accustomed to here at the New Jersey Firemen’s Home. We welcome healthcare providers, RN’s, LPN’s, to join our team,” said Donna Russo, Director of Nursing for the New Jersey Firemen’s Home.

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