NJ Nursing Homes Open For Visitors—​​With Restrictions

NEW JERSEY - After months of isolation and being surrounded by illness and the highest death tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic, long-term care facilities have opened their doors to visitors again. But with restrictions.

"We have to be extremely vigilant when we put out guidance for visitation," Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said. "But whenever we put out the guidance it is really with the thought in mind to keep it as safe as possible for these vulnerable populations."

That guidance, after looking to other states for examples, was implemented Sunday and is for New Jersey's nursing homes, Assisted Living residences, dementia care homes, pediatric transitional care homes, and comprehensive personal care homes.

While individual facilities may have specific visitors policies the general guidelines are:

• A resident who is suspected or confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 or quarantined for a COVID-19 exposure cannot have visitors. A resident who has tested positive is allowed visitation after they have met the criteria for discontinuation of isolation.
• There will only be two visitors permitted at a time and the visitors must remain at least 6 feet away from the resident. Both visitors and residents must wear face coverings.
• A staff member, wearing a surgical mask, must remain with the resident during the visit.
• A designated area should be established for visitors to be screened that maintains social distancing and infection control standards. If the individual has any COVID-19 symptoms, they will not be permitted to visit with a resident.
• Visitors are not allowed beyond the reception area of the facilities and restrooms will not be available to them.
• When staff are transporting the resident outdoors, they cannot be moved through any space where either positive or suspected COVID patients are cohorted. A safe distance of 6 feet distance must be maintained between other residents and staff.
• Long-term care facilities should communicate the visitor policy to residents, families, staff and others. They should receive informed consent from the resident and the visitor in writing that they are aware of the possible dangers of COVID-19 exposure and that they will comply with the facility's policies during the visit. As part of the consent form, the visitor must agree to notify the facility if they test positive for the virus or have symptoms within 14 days of visiting.

At least 48 hours before they begin outdoor visitation, facilities must submit an attestation that they have implemented the requirements of the Department of Health's directive and that the facility has a location designated for outdoor visitation, sufficient staff and person protective equipment and a method to schedule appointments, officials said.

As of Monday, there were 23,774 COVID-19 positive patients and 12,140 positive staff spread through 556 facilities in the Garden State. The listing of deaths is where things get tricky. According to the self-reported numbers by facilities there have been 6,395 patient deaths and 117 staff deaths due to COVID-19 complications but the lab-confirmed totals for residents and staff is at 6,180. There have been a total of 12,870 deaths in New Jersey.

There will be sweeping changes coming to long-term care facilities to repair the deficiencies exposed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Gov. Phil Murphy. Murphy made the announcement last week after his administration had an outside company audit the system and deliver a report.

The report gives guidance for new residents and visitors after the current COVID-19 outbreak and addresses mitigation, protection, and resiliency against future outbreaks, both in the near- and long-term. The recommendations also present a roadmap for rebuilding a high-functioning long-term care system that emphasizes quality of care, patient safety, robust data infrastructure, and strong staff supports.

The current COVID-19 crisis has placed a spotlight on many nursing homes in the Garden State and even facilities with previously clean records haven't been immune. A report about a Warren County facility revealed a woman who fought to save her father from what she says was mismanagement of his care for one.

In Parsippany, a family said that Care One at Morris left an ailing grandmother for hours in a chair, in a soiled diaper, in unspeakable pain and not provided fresh water.

Infamously, Andover Rehabilitation and Subacute Care set up a "makeshift morgue" to deal with an overflow of bodies over Easter weekend. The facility, which had numerous complaints and penalties levied at it in the past was recently fined $220,000 and is now being sued by families of patients.

These cases has brought sharp criticism from some segments of the community, as Senator Steven Oroho, Senator Declan O'Scanlon, and Senator Kristin Corrado released a statement remarking that the "superficial report" commissioned by Murphy does not absolve his administration for its clear failures that led to the massive loss of life in New Jersey's long-term care facilities due to COVID-19.

"The Murphy Administration paid a consulting firm $500,000 to rush a report that attempts to shift blame for thousands of nursing home deaths to anyone but the governor," said Oroho. "What taxpayers received back is a glossy report that repackages the State's data in colorful graphs and charts. The report glosses over the fact that the administration forced our LTC facilities to admit COVID-19 patients, which led to thousands of deaths. With that glaring deficiency, the entire report is suspect."

For his part Murphy has repeatedly denied this allegation noting that the guidance never asked for patients to be admitted into the general population, but rather in a cohort or a separate wing or floor of the facility.

"The administration paid a consultant to write a report at taxpayer expense that advocates for the governor's policy agenda while shifting blame for the governor's bad choices," said O'Scanlon. "I wish I could say I'm shocked. It's undeniable that our long-term care facilities warned that they didn't have sufficient supplies of PPE or the ability to manage the highly infectious patients that the Department of Health was forcing them to accept from hospitals. By failing to address these simple truths, this rushed report was irrelevant the second it was released."

The senators said the administration's attempts to stifle dissenting opinions, shift blame, and perhaps even cover-up its failures serves to heighten the need for a legislative investigation with subpoena authority.

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