Wanaque center sentenced to stop admissions

The Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center received the worst rating possible – "immediate danger" – from state inspectors after three visits over the past week. This rating may result in termination of participation in Medicaid and Medicare programs if deficiencies are not corrected. Both government programs provide the bulk of funding for nursing homes.

There are currently 43 children in the first-floor ventilation unit where the virus has spread, 19 children of the second-floor pediatric unit who are unaffected and 125 adult patients in the Establishment, said the department.

An initial inspection on October 21 revealed that four of the six employees observed were improperly washed when they took care of patients. Subsequent inspections on November 9th, 11th and 13th revealed "evidence of persistent non-compliance" that "is ongoing," Gene Rosenblum, director of the Ministry of Health's program compliance office, wrote Wednesday. letter addressed to the center administrator. .

"Investigators have identified extremely poor practices in preventing and controlling infections that pose immediate danger (… to residents)," wrote Rosenblum.

Thirty-three children and one staff member were diagnosed with adenovirus during the epidemic and 10 died. Despite being at the center of a communicable disease specialist in the state's Department of Health since October 5, new cases continue to be identified. Two residents were diagnosed last Monday.

"We decided to act when we found serious deficiencies – for reasons of patient safety," said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, state commissioner for health, indicating that the report said: Final inspection was still in progress. The conditions were so urgent that the department "could not wait for the current evaluation to be completed".

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The health commissioner said closing facilities was impractical because of the risks of displacing children who are addicted to the ventilators and the real possibility that they spread the infection elsewhere.

New Jersey has only four long-term care facilities equipped to support such children. The two largest structures – Wanaque and Voorhees Pediatric Facility – both fight adenovirus epidemics. (Eight children were sick and none died in the Voorhees epidemic, which involves a more moderate strain of the virus.) The other two – branches of the Children's Specialized Hospital, a part of RWJBarnabas Health, in Mountainside and Tom's River – have waiting lists, said Elnahal.

Wednesday, Elnahal had described the problems that his department had identified in the center of "minor deficiencies in handwashing".

On Wednesday, he said: "The fact that we continue to see new cases confirmed at this point, despite all the efforts made to scrupulously respect the protocols, has clearly shown the limits of the installation of the facility. This action is necessary to ensure patient safety in the future. "

Eugene Ehrenfeld and Daniel Bruckstein of Continuum Healthcare LLC, spokesman for the owners of the facility, said that he was not able to comment immediately.

The state has demanded that the Wanaque center hires two consultants – a "Certified Infection Control Practitioner" and a doctor specializing in infectious diseases – by Friday afternoon.

Both must be on the site 40 hours a week and cover all shifts and weekends, said the order. The doctor must be totally independent of the Wanaque center, without any link with its directors, managers or employees, nor with their relatives. Both must start working on Monday.

Other penalties, including fines, suspension "and / or revocation of license", may be applied if the facility does not comply, said Rosenblum in his letter to Rowena Bautista, l & 39; administrator of the center.

The facility must also demonstrate that it can separate fan residents who do not show symptoms of those who have the virus, the department said. The epidemic has so far been confined to the ventilator.

Once the consultants are selected, admissions to the adult unit and the regular pediatric unit may resume. However, no child may be admitted into the respiratory system until the center has appropriately grouped the patients to control the infection and the Department of Health gives approval.

Approval must also be sought from the health department before a child hospitalized with an adenovirus is readmitted to the Wanaque center, the letter says.

This left the family of a hospitalized child uncertain about the future.

The mother of an 18-year-old convalescing at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson said Wednesday night that she had never heard that her daughter had been prevented from returning to Wanaque.

"Where is she supposed to go after this?", Asked the mother, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect the privacy of her family. "Someone should have told me about that."

The girl was expected to return to Wanaque on Tuesday but suffered a slight crisis that prevented her from staying in St Joseph.

The mother did not want her daughter to return to Wanaque, fearing that she would be infected again. The doctors told him that his daughter could be released later this week if his condition improved. His mother does not know where she will end up yet.

"I'm glad she's not going back, but what's going to happen now?" the mother asked.

The Senate Health Committee plans to hold an epidemic hearing on December 3rd.

Previously, the Wanaque center had voluntarily reduced admissions until the outbreak was declared over, which occurs when two full two-week incubation periods have elapsed. Wednesday's order to stop admissions can only be lifted by the state.

The date on which the outbreak will be declared over has been repeatedly postponed as new cases have been diagnosed. It is now held on December 7.