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Was your child killed or injured in the recent viral outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation? Our dedicated attorneys are here to help.
The Wanaque Center has been cited in the past for violations of basic hygiene. Some families may be eligible to pursue justice by filing a civil lawsuit. Find more information on your legal options in a free consultation today.
Was your child sickened or killed in the recent adenovirus outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation? Are you a Wanaque Center staff member who was exposed in the outbreak? Our deepest condolences and sympathies go out to you.
We understand how painful and difficult this time must be for you. This is a tragedy, one that must be met with swift action. At least 10 children have died, while 18 others have been left sickened. We believe families deserve answers. Our experienced attorneys have launched a full investigation into the Wanaque Center’s infection control procedures.
Could anything have been done to save your child harm? Were all of the appropriate protocols followed to mitigate the suffering? Is the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation legally responsible for the outbreak and any damages that occurred as a result? Our dedicated New Jersey sex assault attorneys is searching for answers to these important questions.
We believe that some families may be eligible to pursue justice by filing a civil lawsuit for financial compensation. An inspection of the long-term nursing facility found significant deficiencies in basic hygiene and handwashing. If these or any other deficiencies led to the recent viral outbreak, or hindered the facility’s ability to prevent the infection from spreading, the families of victims may have powerful legal options.
Our experienced New Jersey personal injury attorneys are here to help. To learn more about your family’s rights, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. We are here to guide you through the legal process with confidence. Find more information at no charge and no obligation.
At least 10 children have been killed by a virulent outbreak of a life-threatening lung infection at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, a long-term nursing care facility for profoundly-disabled children. At least 18 other children, along with one staff member, have been left sickened by a strain of adenovirus.
The Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation is a long-term skilled nursing facility located in Haskell, New Jersey, at 1433 Ringwood Avenue. The center serves pediatric patients and families in Northeast New Jersey, as well as patients in New York City.
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Health officials were notified to a “cluster of respiratory illnesses” at the center on October 9, 2018. The New Jersey Health Department has now stationed infection control experts in the facility to assist in containing the outbreak, which has been linked to the Type 7 strain of adenovirus, a particularly-severe form of the disease.
The Wanaque Center has stopped new admissions of patients until the outbreak has ended. The facility is licensed to care for 92 children and 135 adults.
An inspection of the Wanaque Center performed on October 21 found violations of both both basic hygiene and hand washing. Officials from the Department watched as nurses at the facility administered care to profoundly-disabled children without washing their hands. Nurses were witnessed handling medical equipment without proper sanitation.
Health care workers are required to scrub their hands with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds before touching a patient, after removing gloves and any time their hands move from “a contaminated body site to a clean body site.” On multiple occasions, nurses failed to perform these needed sanitation procedures, according to New Jersey Health officials.
Health Department representatives have listed these violations as “minor handwashing deficiencies.” State Health Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal has called them “low-level,” and says the deficiencies have been corrected.
But in the wake of a virulent viral outbreak, parents are searching for answers. The Wanaque Center cares for children who are medically vulnerable; many of these children live with permanent disabilities and require the use of ventilators and tracheostomies to breathe.
Are violations of basic hygiene truly “minor” under these circumstances, or were young patients placed directly in harm’s way?
New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Elnahal has committed himself to taking “aggressive steps in response to this outbreak.” Teams of infection-control professionals have descended on the Wanaque Center, along with three other facilities that care for disabled children in the New Jersey area, in Voorhees, Toms River and Mountainside. Dr. Elnahal is now considered proposals that would strengthen government-mandated infection control procedures.
