The Justice Department condemned New Jersey's handling of veterans at state-operated homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming the state was not prepared to handle the health crisis in a new 43-page report published Thursday.
The department said two veteran homes in particular had problems with communication and a lack of competency in the staff, which resulted in the virus running "virtually unchecked" throughout facilities in Menlo Park and Paramus. The failures in operations are said to have resulted in the deaths of 200 residents.
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“Those who served to protect this nation and their families are entitled to appropriate care when they reside at a veterans’ home,” U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a statement.
“The Paramus and Menlo Park veterans’ homes fail to provide the care required by the U.S. Constitution and subject their residents to unacceptable conditions, including inadequate infection control and deficient medical care. These conditions must swiftly be addressed to ensure that our veterans and their families at these facilities receive the care they so richly deserve.”
The report also found that even after the Department of Veterans Affairs arrived in New Jersey to help in April 2020, the state Veterans Affairs office failed to implement the recommendations that would reform infection control. The state admitted its failures and negligence in a $53 million settlement in 2021, but Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) has not commented on the new report.
The DOJ's new report demonstrates another failure by a blue state to adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came under fire during the pandemic for his failure to respond to the virus outbreak in nursing homes in his state. Cuomo's administration also drastically underreported the number of cases and deaths that occurred in the nursing homes from the virus.
In New Jersey, Murphy had directed veterans homes not to turn away patients who had tested positive for the virus in April 2020, but that order was later rescinded. New York implemented a policy that saw seniors in nursing homes across the state returned to those homes after being hospitalized and treated for COVID-19.
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The U.S. has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases recently, with 17,418 hospital admissions from the virus from Aug. 20-26, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. First lady Jill Biden also tested positive for the virus recently, but she has not been hospitalized and will remain secluded at her Rehoboth home in Delaware.
President Joe Biden, who was with the first lady until Monday, has tested negative for the virus so far but will be wearing a mask for 10 days.