(The Center Square) – A U.S. Department of Justice investigation into two New Jersey-run veterans homes found the state violated the 14th Amendment to Constitution amid the COVID-19 pandemic by providing “inadequate” care to residents.
The residents of the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus face unreasonable harm and risk due to inadequate infection control practices and inadequate medical care, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to the Department of Justice.
The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs operates the homes, which provide long-term nursing care to veterans and their families.
“We owe the veterans who served our nation our deepest thanks, and those veterans and their family members who live in these facilities have the right to appropriate care,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “Based on our investigation, we have found that these facilities have provided inadequate protection from infections and deficient medical care, which have caused these veterans and their families great harm.”
Clarke said the Department of Justice will work with the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to improve conditions at the homes.
The investigation found inadequate infection control practices and inadequate medical care at the homes were “compounded by a lack of effective management and oversight,” according to the Justice Department.
“Such deficiencies expose residents to uncontrolled, serious and deadly infections and have resulted in the veterans’ homes suffering among the highest number of resident deaths of all similarly sized facilities in the region,” according to the 43-page investigative report.
“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 for the District of New Jersey 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. We will not stop working until they do.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called the report disturbing.
“The U.S. Department of Justice’s report on the Veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus is a deeply disturbing reminder that the treatment received by our heroic veterans is unacceptable and, quite frankly, appalling,” he said in a statement. “In an effort to provide our veterans with the care they deserve, over the past three years, our Administration has instituted numerous processes and procedures to improve conditions, including most recently securing private management and assistance for these two homes.”
Murphy said more work was needed.
“It is clear that we have significantly more work to do and we are open to exploring all options to deliver for our veterans the high level of care they deserve and are entitled to under the law,” he said. “We commend the Legislature for their partnership to help us improve conditions, and we will continue to work together in any capacity to provide world-class care and services to our heroes and support to those who care for them.”
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-NJ, called what happened at the homes “one of the terrible tragedies of the pandemic.”
“This report issued today by the Justice Department lays out in exhaustive detail a chronicle of misdeeds at these homes that should enrage everybody in New Jersey,” Pascrell said in a statement. “What happened to our veterans was one of the terrible tragedies of the pandemic. Too many times residents at the facilities, seniors who fought for our country, have been left in brutal conditions. The incompetence, negligence, and outright recklessness by facility management led to loss of life. We have learned much about the deadly problems that happened early in the pandemic. But that issues as critical as infection control, quality standards of care, and proper oversight have not been remedied by now and continue into 2023 is beyond disturbing. I thank the federal and state investigators for their probity. Those responsible must be held accountable, and held accountable now.”
