Occupant health and safety are high priorities for facility managers in all types of buildings. The issue is an even higher priority in health care facilities, where the health of patients already is compromised when they arrive.
New Jersey health officials are allowing medically fragile children to return to the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, where they were sickened in an adenovirus outbreak that has been blamed for 11 deaths, according to NorthJersey.
Three children had been returned with their families' permission, by Nov. 23 after recovering at area hospitals. Of the 34 sickened children, seven were still hospitalized. An unknown number of sick children at the center have been separated from those without symptoms.
The facility met a state deadline to separate medically fragile kids from those who are sick, according to an N.J.com. The move came nearly two months after the first child was infected in an outbreak of the adenovirus.
Wanaque officials were directed by the Department of Health to separate patients by Nov. 21, but had met the requirement four days earlier. Facility officials say they had been unable to split up residents due to the lack of space.
The facility is still not admitting new children to Wanaque, but it is admitting new residents to a ward for adults located in a different part of the building.
Cathryn Jakicic is healthcare industries editor of FacilitiesNet.com. For more information on hospital campuses and other medical facilities, click here.
