21 December 2022: NJ Governor Murphy Fires CEO of State-Run Nursing Home for Veterans

CEO out at troubled veterans home as Murphy's privatization plan moves forward

NJ Governor Phil Murphy finally got around to acting on his promise to remove the state government employee running one of the worst-run nursing homes for veterans in the state.

The head of the state-run veterans home in Menlo Park is gone amid another turbulent time for the nursing home as Gov. Phil Murphy seeks to privatize management following a long outbreak of COVID this year that killed more than a dozen, state officials confirmed Wednesday.

CEO Jennifer Causer's departure comes the same week that Gov. Phil Murphy's administration began soliciting proposals for a private company to provide management at Menlo Park and two other veterans homes in Paramus and Vineland.

The move was not unexpected. Installing a new CEO was among the first major moves Murphy said he would make when announcing the privatization effort three weeks ago.

Causer's departure comes about a month after an inspection report showed staff at Menlo Park were still practicing poor infection control even though the home had one of the highest death tolls among nursing homes nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. The inspection, conducted in August and September, found that administrators failed to implement safe practices including testing, contact tracing and staff training.

Note: This article was retroactively inserted in the timeline on 29 December 2022.