As the death toll mounts from COVID-19 in New Jersey’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, family members of residents at a Sussex County facility where officials discovered 17 bodies in a small morgue last week called on Trenton to step up its response to the crisis there.

“The biggest problem is communication,” said Abby Bruss, whose uncle, Louis, is a resident of the Andover Subacute and Rehab Center. “There has been zero. And that’s really, as a family member, very disappointing.“

At least 70 residents have died as COVID-19 roared through the 543-bed facility, the state’s largest, and hundreds more are sick. Bruss said her uncle feels OK, but they are worried, and he has not been tested.

“He had said that his roommate was taken out and sent to the hospital,” she said. “We didn’t, obviously for HIPAA reasons, we didn’t know why, but we had to assume the worst, that it was COVID-related.”

On Medicare.gov, Andover Subacute II gets one star — the government’s lowest rating — and logged five complaints during health inspections over the past year. In addition, police in Andover reported shortages of protective gear at the facility, where staffers reportedly have struggled to provide care.

On Friday, state and federal authorities launched an investigation of the facility. State Health Commission Judith Persichilli announced that the owner received several citations, and was required to submit a plan of correction to state officials by the end of the day Monday.

Andover is being required to hire outside consultants to serve as an administrator, director of nursing and an infection control professional — all subject to the approval of the state Department of Health. In addition, the facility is forbidden to take any new admissions.

Persichilli also said the state had the authority to place individuals of its choosing into the positions at the nursing home if the Health Department did not agree with the selections made by the facility.

Family members want a more immediate response. They want Gov. Phil Murphy to send the National Guard to help, as he did at the New Jersey Veterans nursing homes in Paramus and Menlo Park, where more than 230 patients and staff have tested positive and dozens have died.

“I know there’s an investigation going on,” Bruss said. “But let’s be honest. We all know investigations take time. And that’s one thing we do not have on our side in this situation.”

Barbara Corscia, Louis’ sister, agreed with the suggestion. “Andover is short staffed,” she said. “Their people are getting sick. So, yeah, if that’s who they need to call in to help out, then sure.”

In a statement, the attorney for Andover — former New Jersey attorney general Chris Porrino — said: “Andover Subacute looks forward to assisting with any review by the state of recent events, and is confident that such review will confirm that the facility has been addressing the unprecedented challenges from this pandemic appropriately.”

The situation at Andover may be making headlines, but it’s symptomatic of a larger problem for long-term care as it struggles to contain the outbreak. Out of New Jersey’s 600-odd facilities, more than 400 have COVID-19 outbreaks, state statistics show. They’ve got more than 11% of New Jersey’s positive cases. And most tragically, according to Persichilli, 40% of the 4,377 state residents who have died of COVID-19 have been residents at long-term care centers — 1,779 people.

During his daily press briefing on the crisis, Murphy announced that the state’s “dashboard” for presenting data about COVID-19 would now also provide a list of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that have any positive cases, showing how many cases they have and the number of deaths at the facility.

“We are now going to see to it that every facility is reported openly as we had promised,” he said. “This added reporting continues our efforts to put up as much data as we can.”

Persichilli said state officials have frequently told those who run long-term care facilities that they had to report the COVID-19 data themselves.

“Repeatedly, we have reinforced their obligation to inform residents, staff and families,” she said. “However, we are still hearing concerns that that is not taking place. So in the full interest of transparency, we are sharing the details.”

Persichilli also reported that state surveyors have visited 21 facilities, part of an ongoing effort to ensure that all are abiding by state and federal COVID-19 guidelines for infection control, staffing, availability of personal protective equipment and implementation of required plans for response to an outbreak.

Those found to be deficient are required to file plans for corrective action with the state during the coming week.

The industry as a whole faces daunting challenges, according to spokesman Jon Dolan, president and CEO of the Health Care Association of New Jersey. A third of staffers have walked away, and another third are out sick, he said.

“Like hospitals, the staff and others have contracted COVID despite the best measures, and in our case, a lack of prioritization for PPE, and in some cases a lack of planning, in many cases a lack of funding,” he said. “These are systemic issues that are going on throughout the nation.”

“There are certain outbreaks that are controlled better than others, and the interventions from the state in New Jersey have actually been excellent for controlling,” Dolan added. “But then the spread continues with the ongoing tragedy.”

Persichilli said Monday the state had no plans to limit those working in nursing homes to working in only one facility, in answer to a question about the fact that many caregivers hold down jobs in multiple facilities, a factor that’s been cited in the possible spread of the disease.

“There’s a reason why they’re working in several places. That’s because their wages are not enough to support what they need to do to support their families,” she said. “They’re working their little hearts to the bone here, just trying to survive.”

“What I’d rather do is take better care of them, making sure that they understand their own health and well being and how that’s transferred to whatever patient they’re taking care of, at whatever facility,” she added.

In addition, without providing a timeline, Murphy promised there would be a comprehensive review of the long-term care industry at some point in the future, citing in part the level of compensation paid to many staffers.

“To say that we are going to accept the reality of the long-term care facility industry on a going-into basis for this crisis as an ongoing reality, that will not happen,” he said. “There’re profound, tragic, big and small lessons that all of us have learned, at a national level and certainly in New Jersey.”

Even five-star-rated facilities, like the Maple Glen Center in Fair Lawn, have seen COVID-19 infections. Michael Abughoush’s disabled brother, Samir, tested positive and was just transferred to Hackensack University Medical Center, even after, Michael claims, staffers reassured him Samir was safely isolated.

“I wish the Health Department could see what went wrong, do an investigation,” he said. “I’m worried about my brother. I’m worried about other residents also in the facility.”

At Andover, family members said they want all residents and staff members to be tested for COVID-19, as well as their counterparts at all long-term care facilities in the state.

Barbara Corscia said staffers have told her that her brother would be tested.

“I did get a phone call from Andover today saying, confirming he would be tested, once the swabs come in,” she said.