Feds Say Two Veterans Homes Violate Residents’ Rights by Not Providing Adequate Care
New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park is one of two facilities that federal investigators claim violated patients’ civil rights by not providing adequate medical care. Photo credit: State of New Jersey.
That’s the question asked in an interesting court case in New Jersey over the past year as the U.S. Attorney in the district accused two state-managed veterans homes of inadequately caring for its U.S. military veterans. The feds called this a violation of patients’ civil rights, according to a Justice Department press release.
On Oct. 2, the Justice Department announced an agreement had been reached in the cases, with the State of New Jersey agreeing to make changes to resolve the feds’ complaints about the facilities, according to the press release.
Inadequate Care, Infection Control Practices
The bizarre case centers on two New Jersey facilities, one at Menlo Park and another at Paramus. A year ago, an investigation into these facilities began after the Justice Department filed a complaint against the State of New Jersey while joining with the state in filing a proposed consent decree to address findings in conditional described as “unconstitutional” in two New Jersey Veteran Memorial Homes.
The unconstitutional conditions? Inadequate care and infection control practices, which contributed to high fatality rates, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to investigators.
The investigation started in October 2020, and the final report was released on September 2023. It found that in April 2020, which was during the COVID-19 lockdown, 98 Menlo Park residents and 92 Paramus residents died. Typically, around 100 residents die yearly between the two facilities.
Menlo Park is managed by CEO Lisa Kranis, while the veteran home in Paramus is led by Timothy Doyle Jr.
Comments by Officials
“Those who served to protect this nation and their families are entitled to appropriate care when they reside at a veterans’ home,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey in the press release. Sellinger was ultimately responsible for prosecuting the case.
“The Paramus and Menlo Park veterans’ homes fail to provide the care required by the U.S. Constitution and subject their residents to unacceptable conditions, including inadequate infection control and deficient medical care,” Sellinger said.
“We owe the veterans who served our nation our deepest thanks, and those veterans and their family members who live in these facilities have the right to appropriate care,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Based on our investigation, we have found that these facilities have provided inadequate protection from infections and deficient medical care, which have caused these veterans and their families great harm,” Clarke said.
However, AAG Clarke also commented on the agreed-upon consent decree, which is supposed to improve conditions at the facility. “We look forward to working with the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to improve the conditions in these homes they operate and ensure these veterans and their families receive the care they need and deserve.”
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