An anonymous tip led to the discovery of 17 bodies packed into a four-person morgue at Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II in Sussex County, in northern New Jersey.
“They were just overwhelmed by the amount of people who were expiring,” said Eric C. Danielson, the police chief in Andover.
Rep. Gottheimer said he had been contacted by an administrator at the nursing home who requested more body bags two days before the discovery of the bodies. “She called and said, ‘We’re overwhelmed here,’” he said on a Skype call, adding the woman who called was sick herself and said “so many” staff members at the home were sick.
According to NBC News, Gottheimer said the 17 bodies discovered in the small morgue bring the number of deaths linked to the center up to 68. Twenty-six of those who died tested positive for COVID-19, and two staff members are among those who have died. Seventy-six patients at the home are currently ill with the virus, along with 41 staff members.
Local officials have reported that the nursing home is separating infected patients from the healthy ones. But this method is not enough to contain the spread of the virus. “Once one person in the home gets sick it spreads pretty quickly in nursing homes,” Rep. Gottheimer said. “We’re seeing this around the state.”
But the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation II had struggled before the coronavirus outbreak, receiving a one-star rating of “much below average” from Medicare for staffing levels, inspections and patient care.
A representative reached out to Gottheimer’s office, pleading for help. “To all the people calling into the governor’s office, the congressman’s office to help us tell them WE NEED HELP.”
Gottheimer said his office had fielded several calls from staff members and worried relatives pleading for help and assistance. He had spoken to a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency about the possibility of sending National Guard medics.
The state Department of Health sent two shipments, containing 3,200 surgical masks, 1,400 N95 masks and 10,000 gloves to the nursing homes, said Donna Leusner, a spokeswoman. How long this personal protective equipment will last is still unknown.
The discovery at the Andover home comes as 5,670 people have died from coronavirus at nursing homes in the US. There are 3,466 long-term care facilities in 39 states with known coronavirus cases.
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