The DOJ report said veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus were ill-equipped at the start of the pandemic, with poor infection control practices and lackluster medical care.
The announcement marks the first major proposal Phil Murphy has endorsed since a scathing report from the Department of Justice. | Matt Rourke/AP PhotoNew Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday announced a “conceptual agreement” to move state-run veterans homes — which have been criticized for their poor quality of care and high death tolls during the pandemic — out of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and into a new cabinet-level agency.
The proposal to take the homes out of the purview of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and have a new cabinet-level entity has been publicly floated by Democratic senators since last year. Murphy had promisedto split the agency between military and veterans affairs, although the proposal gained steam due to Covid-19’s effects on the homes.
Over 200 residents and staff died at the three state-run veterans homes due to Covid-19 — with the largest death tolls at the homes in Paramus and Menlo Park — although federal investigators have said the death toll is much higher. The scathing DOJ report said that the veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus were ill-equipped at the start of the pandemic, even relative to their peers in long-term care.
“It would be dishonest to say we could build a new department, detail resources and vision in two months,” he said.The agreement between the governor’s office and lawmakers would also create a new “veterans advocate” position to investigate complaints. The veterans homes currently have aas well as the long-term care ombudsman who oversees all licenses long-term care facilities.
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