Coronavirus Hits Short-Staffed Park Ridge Nursing Home

PARK RIDGE, NJ — A spokesperson for Atrium Post Acute Care and Senior Living of Park Ridge told Patch two people have tested positive for the new coronavirus and remain on site. Five others have died.

The spokesperson said two patients with COVID-19 are currently housed in Atrium's post acute care building. Eighteen were transferred to a COVID-19 treatment center in Woodbury, also administered by Atrium, and one died while en route to the center.

Two acute care patients and two assisted living patients have died from the virus, and a fifth patient died while en route to the Woodbury treatment facility, the spokeswoman said. It's unclear if the fifth patient lived in assisted living or was an acute care patient.

Atrium of Park Ridge is made up of two buildings, one housing post acute care patients and the other housing assisted living residents. As of Thursday afternoon, no patients with known cases of COVID-19 remained in Atrium's assisted living center.

Atrium's spokesperson told Patch she did not have any information on how many patients had been tested in full or how many testing kits were available. It's also unclear how many residents live in the assisted living facility or how many patients are staying in acute care.

The spokesperson said the Park Ridge facilities are working hard to ensure residents are given the care they need, but a lack of staffing has presented a challenge.

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Staff members, she said, have been unavailable to work for a number of reasons, including that seven employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

"The rest of the staff from Post Acute Care and Assisted Living are calling out for a number of reasons," she said. "Some are symptomatic, some are losing their childcare... Some are just afraid. It’s just so scary."

The spokesperson, who asked that Patch not use her name, said a team of people are working each day to recruit more staff members, going as far to increase wages and taking advantage of a recent mandate allowing retired, inactive and out-of-state health care workers to assist in New Jersey.

But with limited resources, the remaining staff members care for patients and residents in both buildings, putting both themselves and residents at risk of further spreading the virus.

She said Atrium is also struggling with a shortage of personal protective equipment.

"Everybody everywhere is doing everything they can, but resources are tight. We're not prepared for this," she said. "One of the biggest frustrations is PPEs are getting stopped at customs."

Rene Gonzalez, whose mother has Alzheimers and lives in Atrium's assisted living facility, said he and the children of other Atrium residents have banded together to get information about their parents and find ways to help, but communication remains spotty.

"We all decided to try to call the government health departments... A lot of people say they’re getting nowhere with it," he said.

Gonzalez said he and his counterparts also have daily conferences with Marianne Adamitis, whose LinkedIn profile states she is the Director of Quality Improvement at Spring Hills Senior Communities, Atrium's parent company.

"A lot of [the children of Atrium residents] have fear and anxiety as they can't get information they need," he said.

Atrium's spokesperson said the facility is "working every day very diligently" to hire more staff members and gather more personal protective equipment.

Atrium is accepting donations of PPE and applications for staff positions. Inquiries about both can be sent to info@spring-hills.net.

Clarification: Atrium's spokesperson Wednesday told Patch 11 residents sick with COVID-19 remained in Atrium's assisted living facility. She clarified on Thursday that eight of those residents had already been transferred to the Woodbury facility as of Wednesday. The remaining three were transferred Thursday. The story has been updated.