Finally some hope for NJ long-term care facilities

If you have a loved one in a long-term care facility in New Jersey, you know the heartache of this past year. Many of them were locked down in April due to the coronavirus outbreak. The effects were worse there than the rest of the state due to the Murphy Administration forcing COVID positive patients who tested positive back into those facilities instead of hospitalizing them.

A move that no doubt resulted in more spread and more deaths than the outside population. He seems to be immune from any blame for that move and it's rarely brought up by the press here in this state, but it's a fact. Monday the governor had the nerve to show up at a long-term care facility to announce the beginning of vaccinations for residents and staff and such facilities. He appeared with other state officials and medical personnel to make the usual proclamations about how government is here to save the day.

The people who work at these facilities are heroes whether there is a pandemic or not. They work long hours in difficult circumstances and take care of some of our most vulnerable population. The residents of these facilities have had it the hardest during the past nine months, being isolated from family and friends. In many of these places residents are confined to their rooms with little or no socialization of any kind.

We had to pull our mother out of a great place with great care due to the executive orders and regulations. It's a noble thing to want to preserve life, but to render life not worth living was too great a cost for us. Let's hope that these vaccinations can restore some sort of normalcy and decent conditions for the folks in these facilities. It can't happen too soon for the staff, the residents and their families.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis's own.