“We needed these extra hands,” said Lois Beatty, who directs quality and regulatory affairs at Broadway House for Continuing Care, a long-term care facility in Newark where exhausted staffers are rebounding from omicron. On Wednesday, they gratefully welcomed the assistance of 10 New Jersey National Guard members.
Staff members and residents at Broadway House are 100% vaccinated against COVID-19 and 80% boosted. But that’s not the case at many other New Jersey long-term care facilities, where the staff vaccination rate is 43%. On Wednesday, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered vaccinations and boosters — without a testing opt-out — for health care workers and staff in congregate settings.
