On April 13, the police in a small town in New Jersey received an anonymous tip about a body stored in a shed outside one of the largest nursing homes in the state.
The body had been removed from the shed when the police arrived. However, they discovered 17 dead bodies piled inside the nursing home in a small morgue that is built to only hold four people. According to Eric C. Danielson, the police chief in Andover, New Jersey, the nursing home was overwhelmed by the number of people who died due to COVID-19.
17 Bodies Found at Nursing Home
The 17 bodies found were among the 68 recent deaths connected to the long-term care facility, Andover Subacute, and Rehabilitation Center I and II. Among the dead bodies found were two nurses. Out of the 68 deaths in the nursing home, 26 were tested positive for the virus. As for the rest, the cause of death is still unknown.
For the patients who remain at the homes and housed in two buildings, 76 of them tested positive for the virus and 41 staff members are positive with COVID-19, according to county health records that were shared on April 15 with a federal official.
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Aside from the nursing home in New Jersey, the virus has swept through numerous nursing homes in New York as well, killing thousands of residents at facilities that are struggling with staff shortages, increasingly sick patients and a lack of protective gear.
Andover Subacute is New Jersey's largest licensed facility, and the risk of continued spread of the virus has terrified family members who have turned to social medial and their local congressmen as they are desperate for answers and extra personnel.
Below average nursing home
Even before the pandemic, the said nursing home had struggled. In fact, Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation II recently got a one-star rating of "much below average" from Medicare for staffing levels, inspections, and patient care.
One woman started a group for family members, wrote her sentiments on Facebook on April 14. She stated how helpless she feels due to the situation. Staff members at the facility also expressed their dismay. A representative of Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center II asked for help on Facebook on April 13, but it was deleted on April 14.
After the incident was reported by The New Jersey Herald, about the bodies found in the morgue, the fear in the community intensified. Mr. Josh Gottheimer, a lawyer, writer, and public policy adviser serving as the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 5th congressional district, stated that his office had fielded calls from staff members and worried relatives who are pleading for help. He had spoken to a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency about the possibility of sending National Guard medics.
The Department of Health in the state had sent two shipments containing 1,400 N95 masks, 3,200 surgical masks and 10,000 gloves to the nursing homes. The first shipment went out last week and the second one was delivered on April 15.
Aside from the help sent by the Department of Health, several women created Facebook pages and a website called Sparta Helps Healthcare Heroes, to gather needed gloves, gown, and masks.
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