Politics & Government
McKeon: NJ Law Will Keep Temperatures Livable In Nursing Homes
"Any building that can't keep temperatures cool in the summer and warm in the winter poses a threat to the health of its occupants."
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — When temperatures reach extreme highs and lows, people residing in assisted living residences without proper heating or cooling can feel the heat – literally. But now there’s a set range that many long-term care facilities in New Jersey will have to keep the thermostat dialed at: below 81 degrees or above 65 degrees.
On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law that will require nursing homes, residential health care facilities and dementia care homes in the state to make sure indoor temperatures don’t exceed 81 degrees Fahrenheit or fall below 65 degrees. There are some exemptions, such as when a resident has individual control of the temperature in their unit.
The New Jersey Commissioner of Health will establish standards to ensure every rooming and boarding house in the state has an approved heating and cooling system capable of maintaining the specified temperature range.
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The bill's sponsors in the Assembly included John McKeon of the 27th District, which encompasses Caldwell, Chatham Township, East Hanover, Essex Fells, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn, Roseland, South Orange and West Orange.
McKeon and the bill's other sponsors in the Assembly, Anthony Verrelli and Valerie Vainieri Huttle, issued a joint statement after its signing. They wrote:
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“Everyone deserves to have a home environment that is safe and comfortable. Especially when it comes to sick and elderly residents in long-term care facilities, temperature plays an important role in terms of habitability. Any residential building that cannot keep temperatures cool in the summer and warm in the winter poses a threat to the health and well-being of its occupants. Establishing minimum and maximum temperature standards will protect residents from any problems that would arise from otherwise unlivable conditions.”
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