A high-profile New Jersey veterans home can begin admitting new residents after getting its infection control protocols in line with federal standards, although an industry observer cautioned that some restrictions may still remain in place.
Federal officials halted new admissions at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park in November after a lengthy inspection in the summer found that residents were in “immediate jeopardy of both a life-threatening illness and potential abuse.” The facility already had one of the highest rates of deaths from COVID-19 in the country.
In January 2022, McKnights Long Term Care News reported on a $52.9 million settlement between the state and the families of 119 residents over how the facility managed the COVID-19 outbreak in the early days of the pandemic. The facility is run by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
A lengthy inspection last summer from the state Department of Health resulted in a 293-page report that used the word “abuse” 77 times and cited numerous violations of nursing home standards, according to state media reports.
“The facility’s system wide failure to immediately conduct COVID-19 testing upon the identification of a single new case of COVID-19 posed a serious and immediate risk to the health and well-being of all staff and residents who resided at the facility and who were placed at risk for contracting a contagious and potentially deadly virus,” the report stated.
A subsequent survey conducted on Jan. 23, however, found that enough improvements had been implemented to put the veterans home in “substantial compliance” with federal standards to resume new admissions, according to northjersey.com. CMS had threatened to shut off federal funds on March 8 if improvements weren’t made. The facility updated “infection control processes, testing protocols, and contact tracing” and increased staff competency evaluations, and the frequency of rounds to ensure proper infection controls, according to a statement from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Halting admissions is just one option available to federal or state regulators if numerous or significant deficiencies are found.
McKnight’s inquiries to facility leaders about steps taken to improve compliance were not answered Wednesday.
Consultants have been hired to work in the facility and file reports on progress made toward compliance, according to a close sector observer who declined to be named.
“Those reports must be positive enough and there must be enough documented improvement in new policies, staff training, staff oversight, etc. to make CMS comfortable enough to lift the ban on admissions,” the individual told McKnight’s, cautioning that there might still be some restrictions in place, such as limiting the number of daily admissions or having admissions reviewed by regulatory agencies.
