In a groundbreaking revelation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has identified the state of New Jersey's egregious missteps, likening its actions at two veterans homes to a breach of the Fourteenth Amendment rights. These homes bore witness to the chilling loss of dozens during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing shadows of an ongoing and deeply rooted issue with basic infection control.

Menlo Park and Paramus: Sites of Controversy

Announced on Thursday, the DOJ shed light on its meticulous probe into the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes situated in Menlo Park and Paramus. While the department urges immediate remedial actions, it doesn’t mince words, emphasizing that a lawsuit under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act is on the horizon should the state lag in its response.

Drawing an unsettling parallel, the federal body found the homes to be nests of unreasonable harm and risk, stemming from ineffective infection control and medical care – practices so flawed they seemed to spit in the face of the Constitution.

Beyond Just Infection: A Cascade of Failings

Delving deeper into the 43-page DOJ report paints a grim picture. The risks to the vulnerable residents echo beyond mere infection. These homes, described by traumatized workers with war-like analogies as "pure hell" and "a battlefield", showed cracks in basic medical provisions. The range of deficiencies stretched from monitoring acute health changes to adequate medication administration, and even fall prevention.

To make matters worse, during the harrowing COVID-19 wave in March and April 2020, these veterans homes turned into sites of heartbreak. The DOJ report underscores the atrocities of the period, citing that a staggering 84 residents of the Paramus home perished between March 31 and April 25, 2020. The Menlo Park facility, which once housed around 300 souls, witnessed its numbers dwindle sharply, standing at a meager 205 by April 25, 2020.

Unconstitutional COVID Care At NJ : PPE Mishaps and a Silent Department

Adding to the drama, the report's findings divulged that even as late as mid-April 2020, U.S. Veterans Affairs employees observed staff at these facilities either dismissing the need for masks, sporting them haphazardly, or being perplexingly clueless about changing personal protective gear when transitioning between resident quarters.

In the midst of these revelations, attempts to elicit a response from the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs proved futile, as they remained unavailable for immediate comment.