Wanaque Nursing Home Fined $600K After Death Of 11 Kids: Report

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A Wanaque nursing home was fined $600,000 by the federal government after 11 children died and 36 were sickened after a viral outbreak occurred there last fall, according to a report by NorthJersey.com.

The penalty was based on inspections from state and federal inspections during the adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, according to the report.

In one instance on Oct. 21, after the onset of the outbreak, a licensed nurse touched a patient's tracheotomy tube and a ventilator machine without gloves, the report stated. The nurse then left the room, opened a window in another resident's room without washing her hands, and went to her medication cart, an inspection report said.

In another incident, a respiratory therapist put a gown and gloves on and put a breathing mask on a resident. She took her gloves and mask off and touched her hair without washing her hands. She then went to another resident's room, attached a pulse monitor to their foot, left without washing her hands, and went to another resident's room.

• See related: Report Details Lapses In Care At Wanaque Where 9 Kids Died

Inspectors said they observed a nursing assistant use the same gloves to remove a soiled diaper, respiratory tube, and a resident's tracheotomy collar, the report said. Incidents of nurses failing to wash their hands for the required 20 seconds were also observed, according to the inspection report.

The deficiencies, "did not indicate substandard care was delivered," according to standards outlined by the state Department of Health.

The Department of Health was notified of the outbreak on Oct. 9. Officials began monitoring the situation Oct. 10. State personnel will remain at the facility until the outbreak is over. The U.S. Center for Disease Control is assisting state officials and conducting lab tests related to the outbreak.

• See related: Parents, Officials, Blast Response To Deadly Adenovirus Outbreak

Adenoviruses are typically a family of viruses that often cause mild illness, particularly in young children. But this particular strain of adenovirus (#7) is affecting medically fragile children with severely compromised immune systems.

Adenoviruses can cause mild to severe illness, though serious illness is less common. People with weakened immune systems, or existing respiratory or cardiac disease, are at higher risk of developing severe illness from an adenovirus infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com