A blistering report released by the U.S. Department of Justice said that New Jersey violated the constitutional rights of its veterans by failing to provide sufficient care at two state-run veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus during COVID-19. The report found significant failures in safety protocols and slammed the operators of the homes for instructing staff not to cooperate with the DOJ investigation. And it said that “violations continue.”
Gov. Phil Murphy, in a statement Thursday, said, “It is clear we have significantly more work to do and we’re open to exploring all options.”
Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union), who chairs the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, said he is considering legislation to take control of the veterans homes away from the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, Ken Hagemann, State Adjutant for the NJ VFW, said, “They denied those veterans and their spouses a dignified existence and they died at some of the highest rates in the world.” Hagemann said the DOJ report “found out that the Veterans Administration violated the veteran’s 14th Amendment rights, that they didn’t provide care, the proper care, the proper infection control procedures.”
