Fight on N.J. nursing home crisis turns political: ‘If this was an animal shelter, there would be an uproar.’
Updated Mar 05, 2021;
Posted Mar 05, 2021
The Republican caucus decided to press ahead with its own hearings after being rebuffed on a special committee to examine New Jersey s nursing home crisis.Andre Malok | NJ Advance Media
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It’s not going to be a bipartisan effort.
The crisis in the state’s nursing homes is turning into a political issue, with the minority Republicans holding their own virtual hearings, months after the Democratic-controlled Legislature promised to hold a post-mortem on what happened.
A billthat would create a new oversight board at New Jersey s three veterans homes, where 204 have died from COVID-19, took its first step forward Monday when an Assembly committee approved it.
During an emotional hourlong hearing on the measure, several victims family members voiced support for the new board, which would do everything from recommending standards of care to reviewing reported violations, complaints and investigations. Whatever is in place is broken, said Lisa Tonery, whose father, John Verducci, died at the Menlo Park home in April.
The Paramus and Menlo Park homes have some of the highest death tolls in the nation among nursing homes.