State officials placed Wanaque (N.J.) Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on "immediate jeopardy" due to infection control issues at the facility, where 10 children have died from an adenovirus outbreak, reports the North Jersey Record.
Here are three things to know:
1. The state ordered the facility to cease all admissions Nov. 14 until further notice and said infection control deficiencies posed an "imminent and serious risk of harm" to patients, according to the report. The facility could lose CMS funding if it does not take actions to correct these deficiencies.
2. Health inspectors first detected inadequate hand hygiene practices among employees during an Oct. 21 investigation. Subsequent inspections on Nov. 9, 11 and 13 revealed "evidence of continuing noncompliance," Gene Rosenblum, director of the New Jersey health department's office of program compliance, wrote in a letter to Wanaque leaders cited by North Jersey Record.
"We decided to act when we saw serious deficiencies — for patient safety reasons," State Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal, MD, told the publication. The state's final inspection of the facility is still in progress, but the infection control issues were so urgent, the health department "could not wait for the ongoing assessment to be completed," Dr. Elnahal added.
3. At present, the adenovirus outbreak has sickened 33 children and one employee. While the state placed a communicable disease expert at the facility Nov. 5, additional cases are still occurring. The state is now requiring the center to hire a certified infection control practitioner and a physician specializing in infectious diseases by Nov. 16 to work full time at the facility. Wanaque Center said it expects to declare the outbreak over Dec. 7.