Members of the National Guard have been deployed to assist staff at Sussex County long-term care facilities, according to a statement from the Board of County Commissioners.
They are part of a 150-guard deployment to nursing homes across the state, New Jersey National Guard spokeswoman Amelia C. Thatcher told New Jersey 101.5. Their exact assignments have yet to be determined.
More than 500 cases have been reported to the state Department of Health, a number that has increased daily with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli and State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan said during Monday’s coronavirus briefing that the state had asked the Guard to have strike teams to assist in long-term care facilities, but he did not mention specific places where they were needed.
“Personnel at these facilities have been particularly affected by the latest strain of COVID,” said Sussex County Commissioner Anthony Fasano. “We thought it wise to give them the help they needed before there was a crisis.”
It is not the first time that the Guard has been in nursing homes.
The guard members were dispatched to state veterans homes and the former Andover Subacute facility in Sussex County in 2020. The guard members were tasked with clerical and support tasks such as preparing meals to free staff for help with medical tasks.
During the spring of 2020, the facility, now called Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center, stored 17 bodies in makeshift morgues. Sparta police helped remove the bodies.
Commissioners continue to seek answers from the state on those deaths, but say the state is refusing to respond to their requests for OPRA documents.
“The state is responsible for ensuring that what happened in 2020 never happens again,” added Commissioner Chris Carney. “That’s why we constantly monitor our county’s nursing homes, and when we see a problem, we put pressure on the state to give residents the help they need to stay safe.”
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ
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