Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday dispatched a “mission critical” team to the Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park, after a federal inspection uncovered ongoing problems with infection control, safety violations and abuse. According to state data, 22 of the home’s 201 residents are infected with COVID-19. The home has had an active outbreak for roughly a year, while the state-run veterans home in Vineland has none and the facility in Paramus has three cases.
According to reports, authorities have threatened to cut off Menlo Park from federal funding including Medicare and Medicaid payments after inspection reports said residents were in “immediate jeopardy.” Menlo Park and the veterans home in Paramus had some of the highest COVID-19-related death tolls in the nation. The three-member emergency strike team will spend at least one month at Menlo Park working with staff and leadership.
