The sudden, grim revelations about a makeshift morgue crammed with 17 bodies at a New Jersey nursing home — where at least 26 people are now dead from the coronavirus—has left family members in shock and terrified for the safety of their loved ones.
“It is absolutely shocking and heartbreaking," said Sonia Grunwald, whose 94-year-old mother lives at Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation in Andover, one of the largest nursing homes in the state. "I certainly was not aware of these horrible things that were going on in the other building. It never even crossed my mind that this could be so bad.”
Grunwald said her mother, a Holocaust survivor, had symptoms of COVID-19 and is currently in isolation.
“I’m really just praying my mom is well taken care of and that the staff is safe," she said. "She’s a tough woman but it’s her age that worries me.”
At his daily briefing on Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy said he has asked state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to look into what happened at the Andover Subacute and Rehab, and review all longterm care facilities in New Jersey “that have experienced a disproportionate number of deaths” during the pandemic.
“I am heartbroken by the tragic news that several individuals have lost their lives. I am also outraged that bodies of the dead were allowed to pile up in a makeshift morgue,” he said. “We can and must do better.”
The nursing facility in northwestern New Jersey came into sudden focus, after police on Monday received an anonymous tip about a body reportedly being loaded into a shed on the property. Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson told NJ Advance Media that this past weekend authorities had received a request for 25 body bags from the nursing home.
Sussex County Administrator Gregory V. Poff II said Thursday there have been 57 recent deaths at the facility, of which 26 were COVID-19 related.
Andover has 699 licensed beds between two separate facilities. The larger of the two is ranked at the bottom in the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare ratings, with 1 out of 5 stars, or “much below average.” The other is ranked 3 stars, or average.
The nursing home is owned by a Lakewood-based company called Alliance Heathcare Holdings. Federal and state records list its principals as Chaim Scheinbaum and Louis Schwartz.
In 2017, the nursing home—then under different ownership—settled charges that it billed New York Medicaid “for materially substandard or worthless nursing services provided to certain patients that failed to meet federal standards of care and federal statutory and regulatory requirements” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
The previous owners did not admit to any liability, but agreed to settle the case by paying $395,508 to the United States and $492,492 to the state of New York, said federal authorities.
Calls to the nursing home and Andover Township administration were not immediately returned. Calls to a phone number listed for Scheinbaum were not returned.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the freshman New Jersey Democrat whose district includes Andover in Sussex County, said he had spoken with the administrator of the facility on Sunday, who told him there had been a huge COVID-19 outbreak and a significant amount of deaths in a short period of time.
Indeed, on March 29, the Sussex County Division of Health reported an outbreak of the coronavirus at Andover Subacute.
At the same time, Gottheimer reported that he was told the facility had been short on staff — which was confirmed by Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli at the state’s daily coronavirus briefing at the daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday afternoon, noting that the local health department had surveyed the site and come to the same conclusion.
“We’re not pleased with what is going on at the Andover facility,” Persichilli remarked.
Gottheimer said it was heartbreaking for families to know their loved ones were not being cared for.
“If you’re so short-staffed, are people getting their medicine?” he asked. “Are we doing every possible thing to keep them safe?”
He also had concerns about the lack of communication with families.
“We received many calls from staff members and family members. People are scared and they’re not getting information,” said the congressman. “They had a huge outbreak and a significant amount of deaths in a short period of time.”
The health commissioner said 103 residents and four staff members have tested positive for the virus, while 133 residents are reporting flu-like or respiratory symptoms and 48 staff members are reporting flu-like symptoms.
According to Grunwald, the nursing home went into lockdown early last month, barring any visitors at the facility. Since the lockdown, she said she has spoken to her mother from the other side of a glass window.
She declined to comment on whether she has received updates from staff regarding her mother or any positive cases of the coronavirus at the nursing home, but said the responsibility for what had happened is with the ownership.
She fears that the outbreak will incapacitate nursing staff who may no longer be able to take care of her mother.
“The bottom line is all I care about is that she’s really taken care of,” she said. “And that the staff stays healthy too. We can’t do it without them.”
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage
Staff writer Jonathan D. Salant in Washington contributed to this report.
Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.