WOODBRIDGE – The residents at St. Joseph’s Nursing Home devastated by COVID-19 are moving back home after a massive cleaning effort.
“Six patients returned there yesterday [on April 16] and every day another group will return,” said Mayor John McCormac in his daily report on April 17. “Only patients who were tested and negative for the virus or those who have had it and are no longer contagious will be permitted back in the building. A total of 58 residents are expected to return, but keep in mind that 78 left there less than a month ago. We know of 16 deaths and the rest are still sick so please keep all of them and their families in your thoughts and prayers.”
McCormac said it’s good to have residents back where they can be closer to their children and grandchildren who still live in Woodbridge or nearby.
“Nursing homes throughout the state are reporting massive amounts of cases and we are very lucky that the state addressed St. Joseph’s early on so that our people had a place to go while the facility was cleaned,” he said.
St. Joseph’s Seniors Home and Assisted Living Facility has been operated by the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception since 1981, according to its website. It is a nonprofit Catholic healthcare community focused on offering a continuity of senior living.
The nursing home saw an increased number of reported positive COVID-19 cases and deaths. With the help of state officials and CareOne the residents were moved to a CareOne facility in Hanover on March 25.
The Little Servant Sisters, on their social media page, showed appreciation for “all those who have contributed to this matter and have supported us in any way through prayer, good word, life, care and material gifts.”
A GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/f/save-st-joe039s, has been set up through loved ones at St. Joseph’s Seniors Home for continued support for “the Sisters and staff [who] laid their own lives on the line” to help their loved ones.
In the last 24 hours Woodbridge had an additional 33 reported cases of COVID-19, bringing the township’s total to 825, McCormac said.
“Our average for the last seven days has been 29 so this is right in line with that,” he said. “We are over a week removed from daily totals in the 60s, 70s, and 80s and that is terrific news. We are encouraged by the news from the state of New Jersey that they are starting to see more patients released from hospitals than admitted, which is a terrific sign that there might be a flattening of the curve.”
The mayor noted the Woodbridge numbers continue to trail the state on a per capita basis.
The Township has a bank account called We Feed Woodbridge, which collects monetary donations spread among the 11 township food pantries as they need it. Checks can be made out to We Feed Woodbridge and sent to the township’s Health Department at 1 George Frederick Plaza, Woodbridge, NJ 07095 or to the Mayor’s office at 1 Main Street, Woodbridge, NJ 07095.
The mayor continues to urge neighbors to check on people who live alone and cannot leave their homes.
For more COVID-19 information, visit covid19.nj.gov. Visit www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us for local information.
For Middlesex County information visit discovermiddlesex.com/covid19/ or www.middlsexcountynj.gov/covid19.