{"id":2025137,"date":"2023-09-07T19:43:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T23:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-says-new-jersey-veterans-care-during-pandemic-systematically-violated-constitution\/"},"modified":"2023-09-07T19:48:27","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T23:48:27","slug":"doj-says-new-jersey-veterans-care-during-pandemic-systematically-violated-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-says-new-jersey-veterans-care-during-pandemic-systematically-violated-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ: NJ Veterans&#8217; Care Amid Pandemic &#8216;Broke Constitution&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-says-new-jersey-veterans-care-during-pandemic-systematically-violated-constitution%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2025137&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>The residents of\u2064 two state-run veterans\u2019\u2064 homes in New Jersey\u2064 had their Fourteenth \u200bAmendment rights \u201csystematically violated\u201d by the state, \u2064according to the Department\u2062 of Justice.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>The department, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/d9\/2023-09\/njveteranshomesfindings.report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sept. 7 report<\/a>, said it had found \u200b\u201creasonable\u200b cause to believe\u201d that\u2063 the \u2064state failed to provide adequate \u200ccare to \u2064residents of the \u2062Menlo Park and Paramus\u2063 Veterans Memorial Homes \u200bduring the COVID-19 pandemic and that those failures are\u2062 ongoing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>Poor quality of care, the department contends, \u200cconstitutes a violation of residents\u2019 Fourteenth \u2062Amendment right to\u200d conditions of \u201creasonable care and safety\u201d while \u2062in state custody.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related \u2063Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-pledges-to-reverse-bidens-shocking-act-of-betrayal-of-veterans-5452098\">Trump\u200c Pledges to Help Veterans, Restore Law \u2064That Would &#8216;Quickly Terminate VA Bureaucrats&#8217;<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/8\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-pledges-to-reverse-bidens-shocking-act-of-betrayal-of-veterans-5452098\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/veterans-affairs-overestimated-veteran-numbers-by-25-memo-5403322\">Veterans Affairs Overestimated Veteran Numbers by\u2062 34%: Memo<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">7\/17\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/veterans-affairs-overestimated-veteran-numbers-by-25-memo-5403322\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe \u200dowe the veterans who served our nation our deepest thanks, and\u2063 those veterans and their family members who live in these \u200cfacilities\u2064 have the right to appropriate care,\u201d said Kristen\u2063 Clarke, \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-antrim-co-forensic-report-bombshell-reveals-dominion-machines-were-set-at-68-05-error-ratemeaning-68-05-of-ballots-could-be-sent-out-for-mass-adjudication-giving-individuals-or-ma\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Antrim Co. Forensic Report BOMBSHELL Reveals Dominion Machines Were Set At 68.05% Error Rate\u2026Meaning 68.05% Of Ballots Could Be Sent Out For Mass Adjudication, Giving Individuals Or Machines Ability To Change 68.05% Of Votes\">assistant attorney general<\/a>\u2062 of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division, in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased\u2062 on our investigation, we \u200bhave found that\u200b these facilities have provided inadequate protection from infections and deficient medical care, \u200cwhich have\u200d caused these veterans and their families\u2062 great harm,\u201d Ms. Clarke said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe look forward to working with the\u200c New Jersey \u200dDepartment of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA) to improve the conditions in these homes they operate and ensure these veterans and their families receive \u2062the \u200dcare they need \u200dand\u2062 deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Justice Department notified New Jersey officials in October 2020 that it would be investigating the \u2064conditions in the\u200c two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/miranda-devine-as-threat-of-nuclear-war-looms-how-democrats-spin-a-crisis\/\" title=\"Miranda Devine: As Threat of Nuclear War Looms, How Democrats Spin a Crisis\">veterans\u2019 homes<\/a> under the\u200d Civil Rights of Institutionalized\u200b Persons Act.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<h2><strong>\u2018Pure Hell\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Dozens of witnesses\u2063 were interviewed in the process, including the facilities\u2019 staff members\u2064 and management, DMAVA leadership, and residents and their family\u200b members.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>U.S. Veterans Affairs\u2062 personnel who assisted\u200c the facilities early in the pandemic were\u2063 also questioned.<\/p>\n<p>When interviewed, one Paramus \u200dstaff member reportedly said the scene there was \u201cpure hell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another at Menlo Park described it as \u201ca battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven by the standards of the pandemic\u2019s difficult early days, the facilities were unprepared to keep their residents safe,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA systemic inability to implement clinical\u200d care policy, poor communication\u2063 between management and staff, and a failure to ensure basic \u200bstaff competency\u200d let the\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-says-new-jersey-veterans-care-during-pandemic-systematically-violated-constitution\/\" title=\"DOJ: NJ Veterans' Care Amid Pandemic 'Broke Constitution'\">virus spread virtually unchecked<\/a> throughout the facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, COVID-19 was the second-leading cause of death\u200d in New Jersey. But according to the report,\u2064 the true number of COVID-19 deaths in the state\u2019s veterans\u2019 homes\u2063 that year was likely \u201csubstantially higher\u201d than what\u200b was publicly disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe facilities reported the cause\u200b of death as \u2063COVID only when \u2063there was a positive COVID test.\u2063 But, COVID tests were \u200cnot readily available during March and April 2020. And residents often died before \u200bthey were tested,\u201d the report notes.<\/p>\n<p>The facilities\u2019 failure to systematically track probable COVID-19 deaths \u200bmeant that such deaths\u2062 were excluded from \u2062the early death data.<\/p>\n<p>Another key failure the report cites was the facilities\u2019 poor implementation of \u2062basic infection \u2062control policies\u200d like masking, using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">personal protective equipment<\/a> (PPE), handwashing, and proper cleaning practices.<\/p>\n<p>At Paramus, housekeeping staff did not know how to properly disinfect resident areas.<\/p>\n<p>At Menlo Park, the nursing stations were\u200d dirty, common areas weren\u2019t \u200cbeing cleaned, and one Veterans\u200b Affairs \u2063staffer\u200b reported seeing \u201cants\/bugs everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile,\u200b neither facility properly adhered to\u200c the state Department of\u200c Health\u2019s orders to group residents based on their \u2063level of exposure, and no standard \u2062protocols existed for symptom monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of one Menlo Park resident, a\u200d former Marine whom the report calls \u201cResident C,\u201d his\u200d health began to deteriorate shortly after the death of his \u200broommate.<\/p>\n<p>His \u2064roommate had been hospitalized with suspected COVID-19 and tested positive at the hospital, where he died shortly after.<\/p>\n<p>Yet even as \u200bResident C\u2019s \u2062condition declined over the \u2062following weeks, the facility\u2019s\u2062 staff never moved him to a \u200bCOVID-19 unit or\u2063 noted any possibility of\u2063 infection on his \u2063chart.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, without explanation, they took his scooter and shut\u2064 the\u2063 door\u2062 to his room, making\u2064 it impossible \u200bfor him\u200b to leave or reach his buzzer \u2064to call for assistance. The next day, they noted \u201cconfusion\u201d on his chart, and\u2064 started treating him for\u200c pneumonia. Within hours, he was \u2063yelling for\u200b help, and days later \u2064he\u2063 was \u201cobserved in bed screaming.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Justice found that New Jersey violated the Fourteenth Amendment rights of residents in two state-run veterans&#8217; homes. In a report on Sept. 7, the department stated that the state failed to provide sufficient care to residents at Menlo Park and another facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1226,"featured_media":2025138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}