(The Center Square) – New Jersey is looking a third-party partner to take over its problem-plagued veterans homes amid ongoing scrutiny from the federal government.
On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy directed the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to begin soliciting proposals from private vendors with expertise in running long-term care facilities to take over the operations of the state’s three veteran homes.
“By seeking experienced leadership – the best of the best – to oversee systemic reforms and bring seasoned staff on board, we will harness the expertise and impartiality of an outside vendor to ensure the implementation of thorough, long-lasting reforms in these homes,” he said in a statement.
Murphy said the state will be seeking a vendor “with extensive, proven experience in long-term care health administration and handling projects of a similar size and scope in long-term care settings” with team members “who possess clinical, operations, and facility expertise.”
Under the plan, the chosen vendor will be required to enlist a “qualified team” of administrative staff, including a chief executive officer and a chief nursing officer, Murphy said.
The move follows a decision by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week to cut off federal funding for new admissions at the Veteran’s Memorial Home at Menlo Park in Edison. It cited inefficiencies in care and infection control that put residents of the 312-bed facility in “immediate jeopardy” of harm.
The federal agency said the Menlo Park facility is “not in substantial compliance” and threatened to levy fines and other penalties as well as a permanent discontinuation of federal funding by next March if the deficiencies are not corrected. State veterans affairs officials are contesting the agency’s findings.
Last week, the Murphy administration dispatched a “Mission Critical Team” to the veterans home, which includes administrators with expertise in operating long-term care facilities.
New Jersey’s veteran’s homes reported one of the highest death rates in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus claimed the lives of more than 200 residents and staff in the three veterans homes, according to state health officials.
The state pushed through a number of reforms at vet homes in response to the deaths and fired Menlo Park’s CEO in October 2020 as part of a leadership shake-up at the agency.
To date, the Murphy administration has paid out more than $68 million to resolve claims of gross negligence and incompetence by veterans home administrators, filed by the families of residents who died during the height of the pandemic.
In August, Menlo Park employees filed a lawsuit against the state claiming that punishing workers for not wearing masks and other COVID-19 precautions put their lives at risk.
