(TRENTON) – Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D-Hudson) issued the following statement on the Mannett Health report released on June 2nd which issued suggestions to improve long term care facilities in New Jersey:
“The pandemic has brought to light how grossly unprepared our long term care facilities are to handle a crisis of this proportion. It magnified the need for strong reform of the regulations guiding these facilities such as the qualifications and certification during transference of ownership. I think one thing has become clear, the era of permitting long term care facilities to be used as profit centers rather than health care providers needs to come to an end.
“The suggestions in the long term care report is a good starting point for New Jersey. Going forward, a close eye must be kept on these facilities and continue to work toward greater protections for the New Jersey residents who reside in them. The fact that these facilities can be transferred without a “certificate of need” and formal robust review by Department of Heath needs to end.”