Union County Nursing Home Coronavirus Cases Released

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Sixteen nursing care facilities in Union County have had at least one patient who died of coronavirus complications, and seven of those have had at least seven deaths, for a total of 105 deaths in Union County long-term care facilities as of Monday, according to the state's Department of Health.

The facilities range from veterans' homes to rehabs to nursing homes.

NOTE: The numbers were first released by state Department of Health in a press conference on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, the health commissioner said the data was "self reported" by the nursing homes. Regarding discrepancies, "We’re giving them an opportunity to clean up the data," she said. See the links later in this story to get the most updated lists.

The lists come after weeks of requests for the information and repeated warnings from the state to the owners of these privately run facilities about their need to report the information to patients, employees, and patients' families, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Monday.

Long-term care facilities have been a point of concern since the earliest stages of the outbreak, as has been potential spillover to the senior community at large.

In Union County as a whole, there have been 427 deaths linked to coronavirus, and 10,289 positive test results. That means about a quarter of the deaths were in long-term care facilities.

The numbers statewide have increased dramatically each day. On Monday, there were 88,806 people who tested positive for the coronavirus, and 4,377 of them had died, according to the state health department. As of Tuesday, the numbers had climbed to 92,387, and 4,753. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle is among those who has been concerned about nursing home deaths in her community. She provided an update on Tuesday trying to clarify confusing numbers about deaths in her town.

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"Yesterday, the State Department of Health began publishing COVID-19 data specific to long term care facilities," she wrote on Tuesday night. "As we all know, the ongoing spread of infection at these facilities is a major point of concern nationwide, and our hearts break for the impact on the most vulnerable members of society. In Westfield, we have two long-term care facilities — Sunrise and Genesis — both of which are privately run, yet remain in ongoing contact with our Health Department."

She said, "As you’ll recall from a previous update, the reporting of cases in these facilities utilizes the patient’s primary address, which is not always in Westfield. Therefore, the numbers you see on the state’s dashboard for Sunrise and Genesis combined — 43 documented COVID-19 cases and nine deaths — are not all included in the Westfield numbers we report, as some of those patients did not identify as residents of our town. To clarify, our Health Department reports 26 of our total case number, and eight of our total fatalities, to be associated with Sunrise or Genesis."

"The state numbers also take into account employees of those facilities who contract COVID-19, and whose place of residence may not be in Westfield. In addition, when we indicate that a case in Westfield has been associated with a long term care facility, it doesn't necessarily mean Sunrise or Genesis; it can be any facility where a Westfield resident was receiving care," she said.

Mayor Patrick Giblin in Cranford also has been concerned. He said Tuesday that out of 43 Cranford residents who died of the virus, 32 had been in one of the town's three long-term care facilities.

Not everyone in the homes has been tested, and there may be discrepancies due to a delay in communications between the facilities and the state.

Below is a list of facilities in Union County that — as of Monday — reported patients who were positive for the coronavirus, along with deaths (in parentheses) that have been confirmed as a coronavirus case at those facilities. Again, the list was provided by the state Department of Health.

Facilities with seven or more deaths, as of April 20

Genesis at Westfield Center, Union: 41 (7)

AristaCare at Norwood Terrace, Plainfield: 36 (8)

Elmora Hills Healthcare Center, Elizabeth: 62 (9)

Autumn Lake Healthcare at Berkeley Heights, Berkeley Heights: 51 (10)

Clark Nursing and Rehab, Clark: 66 (14)

Plaza Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Elizabeth: 36 (14)

Elizabeth Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Elizabeth: 46 (17)

Other facilities

Sunrise of Westfield, Westfield: 2 (2)

ManorCare Mountainside, Mountainside: 17 (3)

Cranford Park Rehab and HCC, Cranford: 34 (4)

Lantern Hill, New Providence: 23 (4)

JFK Hartwyck at Cedar Brook Plainfield: 52 (5)

South Mountain Rehab and LTC, Union Twp: 43 (5)

Atria Senior Living at Cranford, Cranford: 9 (1)

Spring Meadows Summit, Summit: 2 (1)

Alaris Health at Riverton, Rahway: 1 (1)

Brother Bonaventure Care Center, Elizabeth: 11 (0)

Cranford Rehab and Nursing Center, Cranford: 5 (0)

Runnells Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, Berkeley: 3 (0)

Children's Specialized Hospital, Mountainside: 2 (0)

Brighton Gardens at Mountainside, Mountainside: 1 (0)

AristaCare at Delaire, Linden: 1 (0)

Spring Grove Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, New Providence: 1 (0)

Ashbrook Care and Rehabilitation Center, Rahway: 1 (no number given)

The Chelsea At Fanwood, Fanwood: 1 (no number given)

Amber Court at Elizabeth, Elizabeth: 3 (no number given)

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