U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate possible civil rights violations at a New Jersey nursing home. This follows a scathing report from the state, alleging abuse and neglect at Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center in Andover that threatened the health and safety of its roughly 450 residents. Grassley, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says the federal government must intervene to put a stop to “egregious and flagrant conditions” that have caused residents “serious physical and emotional harm.”
The nursing home first came under scrutiny in April 2020, when police found 17 bodies stored in a shed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state Department of Health has since halted new admissions to the facility. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has given Woodland until August 15 to fix a litany of violations or lose federal funding, a move that would likely shut the nursing home down.
