Parsippany Mobile Food Drop Was A Great Success
PARSIPPANY— On Friday, April 3, the Township of Parsippany, in partnership with Bethel Church of Morristown’s Table of Hope hosted a Mobile Food Drop in the PAL parking lot.
Pastor Sidney Williams, volunteers from the Church, and members of the Township and local food bank placed bags of food into the trunks of over 70 vehicles, providing hundreds of meals to those who attended.
The Township will look to make the mobile food drop a more regular event taking place in Parsippany to support residents in need. For more information on upcoming mobile food drops, to donate, or to volunteer, please call (973) 263-7160.
COVID-19: Red Cross Urges Blood Donations — Gov. Eases Restrictions on Blood Drives
MORRIS COUNTY — Governor Phil Murphy has exempted blood drives from his Executive Order that prohibits public gatherings to allow for blood donations to meet the medical needs of New Jersey residents during the COVID-19 crisis.
Blood drives may to operate but only using appropriate mitigation efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. That would include incorporating social distancing where practicable, collecting blood only from individuals who are healthy and feeling well, conducting temperature screens of both staff and donors before entering a blood drive
It also would require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), providing hand sanitizer to donors, and frequently sanitizing equipment and work spaces
The American Red Cross, meanwhile, has put out a call for blood donations to ensure an available blood supply for hospital patients. It is strongly urging eligible donors to schedule their next appointment to donate blood at a blood drive scheduled near where you live or work.
The Red Cross says donating blood is a safe process and asks healthy residents to donate soon.
Sherrill Statement on Family Testing Positive for COVID-19
PARSIPPANY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) released the following statement on her family testing positive for COVID-19:
“This week, my husband was tested and diagnosed with COVID-19. After developing symptoms myself, and speaking to my doctor, I have scheduled a test.
“My work on behalf of our district, the fight to protect and provide our doctors, nurses, and first responders with critical personal protective equipment, and my commitment to deliver relief for our workers and small businesses remains my top priority.
“I cannot stress enough how important it is that we all follow the recommendations of the CDC and the ‘stay at home’ order that is in place. The road ahead for New Jersey is going to be a hard one, so now more than ever, we must take care of each other and work together so that we can end this crisis.”
18 Additional Residents Tested Positive for COVID-19
PARSIPPANY — The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills has been informed of 18 additional residents presumptively tested positive for COVID-19. No details on age or gender were provided.
The number of presumptive positive cases in Parsippany-Troy Hills stands at 127 individuals, two of whom have since died from the virus. (This data is as of 4:23 p.m., Thursday, April 3).
Morris County has a total of 1257 residents presumptively tested positive for COVID-19. This is an increase of 164 cases from yesterday.
Please remember to continue the best practices of social distancing, washing your hands as often as possible, disinfecting any surfaces you may touch, and avoid touching your face. If you exhibit any symptoms of illness, please remember to consult your personal doctor immediately.
The County of Morris, in partnership with Atlantic Health, is offering drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the County College of Morris, Dover Chester Road, Randolph, NJ 07869, in parking lot 1. Testing is scheduled beginning 9:00 a.m. and is for Morris County residents only. There is no fee for the test.
To sign up for an appointment online click here for details.
For more information about COVID-19, please visit www.covid19.nj.gov or call 211.
For a complete breakdown of Morris County total presumptively tested positive cases, click here.
NJ Goes All Out to Prepare for COVID-19 Surge That’s About to Hit
by , NJ Spotlight
This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com
After weeks of planning and preparations, New Jersey is now ready to activate its hospital-capacity contingency plans, as facilities in the northern counties are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by a surge of patients with COVID-19.
State officials are preparing to shift patients with more limited clinical needs from existing hospitals to the new “field medical station” set up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Meadowlands in order to make room for individuals who need critical care; the field station, in Secaucus, is expected to start accepting patients Monday. Newark’s University Hospital, the region’s Level 1 trauma center, will oversee the field station and transport the patients by ambulance or air, if needed.
“As we see the number of cases increasing across the state and the pressure on our hospital systems building, we are preparing to release that valve by standing up alternative care sites,” New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Thursday during the state’s daily briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 25,600 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the resulting disease, and 537 have died.
When hospitals run out of room
The DOH has used statistical models to predict when the worst of the outbreak would hit hospitals, and Persichilli said Wednesday that, as expected, the “surge is beginning to occur in the northern part of the state.” She said the department helped several facilities secure extra ventilators before they ran out and, at points in recent days, roughly a dozen hospitals in northern counties became too full to accept new emergency patients, forcing them to “divert” ambulance traffic to other hospitals for anywhere from two to 12 hours.
“Increasing critical-care capacity is the key to managing the surge,” Persichilli said. In addition to the Secaucus field hospital, the USACE is working with the state police and others to establish additional operations in Edison and Atlantic City in the coming weeks. Altogether, this effort is expected to add nearly 1,000 hospital beds for patients who don’t need critical care.
“The hospitals are packed. We still have flu season, we still have everyone else that goes to a hospital with a medical or an emergency surgical problem,” Persichilli explained Wednesday. “That doesn’t go away during a crisis.”
New Jersey’s hospitals provide nearly 19,000 beds, plus an additional 2,000 critical-care spots. But even with the strict social distancing now in place, the models suggest the state could need an additional 2,000 critical-care beds to care for the crush of patients who are likely to suffer severe respiratory symptoms from the novel coronavirus, which is now spreading rapidly through the community. Reported COVID-19 cases jumped 15% between Wednesday and Thursday and deaths climbed by one-third, although officials said some of the fatalities may have occurred earlier in the week.
To meet the critical-care need, the state is also looking to create another 1,000 beds by reopening recently closed health care facilities, including the former Woodbury Hospital previously operated by Inspira Health in Gloucester County. St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson has pledged to reopen the former Barnert Hospital adjacent to its main hospital, which would produce another 154 beds, according to reports. State officials are also looking to repurpose unused parts of operating hospitals, hotels and other options, but declined to offer specifics Thursday, calling the effort a work in progress.
When ready, these reopened facilities will also accept lower-acuity patients “decanted” from existing hospitals, creating room for new critical-care patients. Hospital operators have been asked to double their critical-care capacity, something many have already done by rearranging facilities or reopening closed wings.
“We’ve gone through looking at every square inch of every facility that we have where we can safely put patients,” Barry Ostrowsky, president and CEO of the massive RWJBarnabas Health system, with 11 hospitals in the northern and central parts of the state, told NJ Spotlight. “When you look at the model, the need for facility-based beds and equipment will certainly outpace that which is currently available in our state,” he said.
An ‘hour-to-hour’ battle
The coronavirus pandemic is putting “unprecedented pressure on the health-care delivery system,” Ostrowsky said, and he anticipates the northern counties will “get to its crescendo and then it will hit that probably over the next two weeks. So the strain on our health care facilities, the people who staff them, the equipment and resources is literally an hour to hour, day to day, constant battle,” he said.
“We’ve been going at this seven days a week for weeks and we haven’t hit the worst of it. And that’s a scary thing,” Ostrowsky said.
While University Hospital is slated to manage the Secaucus field site, Ostrowsky said RWJBarnabas will oversee the Edison operation, which state officials said is expected to have 500 beds. The Barnabas system also includes Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, which serves as Central Jersey’s Level 1 trauma center. State officials have not said who will run the Atlantic City operation, but Cooper University Health Care, based in Camden, is the South Jersey Level 1 trauma center.
“We are honored to do it and we are uniquely qualified to it,” University Hospital president and CEO Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the former state health commissioner, told NJ Spotlight; the hospital already coordinates emergency response for Newark and its international airport and runs the busiest trauma center in the state.
Elnahal said he spoke Thursday with leaders of the other northern hospitals to coordinate plans to decant patients or shuttle ventilators and PPE to where they are needed most. The state’s emergency management team is preparing to give UH access to a regional dashboard that provides real-time information on bed capacity and equipment at northern hospitals, a system Elnahal expects will be operational early next week.
The Secaucus field hospital will start slowly and accept more patients as staff and equipment come into place, officials note. Elnahal said the Veterans Administration facility in East Orange has also agreed to take civilian patients — a first for the military site — and East Orange General Hospital, which has struggled to fill its beds, is also available to care for lower-acuity patients.
“All of that depends on the availability of equipment, supplies and staff,” he said. “There’s going to be a ramp-up (at the field hospitals), not a switch that flips on.”
Persichilli announced Wednesday that national insurance giant UnitedHealthcare has volunteered two respected clinicians to lead the alternative-capacity efforts statewide: Kathleen Stillo, president of clinical redesign, and Dr. Jeff Brenner, founder of the Camden Healthcare Coalition and a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” recipient. State officials said they are on loan for three months.
Tracking available beds
To help coordinate the movement of patients within a region, the state is using data collected by the New Jersey Hospital Association through a portal that enables all of the state’s 71 acute care facilities to submit daily reports on their bed capacity, the size of the workforce and the availability of critical equipment, like ventilators and protective gowns and masks. Reporting began Monday and state officials said they plan to make the information public next week.
While Persichilli and Gov. Phil Murphy continue to express confidence in the state’s hospital-bed capacity — assuming the field sites and reopened facilities come online as planned — they are concerned about staff levels, ventilators and the personal protective equipment, or PPE, needed to keep health care workers safe when treating contagious patients.
The state has pushed the federal government to provide supplies from a national stockpile and is also collecting donations through its website, www.covid19.nj.gov; these items will be distributed to hospitals as needed. Persichilli’s team is also working to match 5,200 volunteers — more than a third of them licensed health care clinicians — with field hospitals or other alternative medical facilities.
While these emergency facilities are intended for lower-acuity patients, Persichilli said they will largely be able to function as full acute-care facilities, with X-ray capacity, lab services, a pharmacy and a full complement of staff, including behavioral health and social workers. The sites are not focused on COVID-19 patients, but she said they would be fully equipped to safely handle patients who develop the disease.
“We will have a full team there to meet not just the medical needs, but also the mental health needs and also the discharge-planning needs of the individuals who will be there as patients,” Persichilli said. The Meadowlands site “will be a valuable resource for our northern hospitals (that) are already experiencing an increased demand for care,” she added.
Explainer: Why Ventilators are Critical and How NJ is Preparing for a Possible Shortage
by Andrew S. Lewis, NJ Spotlight
This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com
Gov. Phil Murphy has called New Jersey’s lack of ventilators “dire,” and has increasingly called on the White House to deliver more from the federal stockpile. Why are there so few ventilators, and why are they key in the fight against COVID-19?
Does New Jersey have enough ventilators?
Murphy has requested 2,500 from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), a federal repository of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment that itself is now facing a shortage of masks, gowns, and especially ventilators as cases of COVID-19 soar across the United States.
As of Thursday morning, the state had received 850 from the stockpile. The governor has reiterated that he is still pressing for the outstanding 1,650 from the federal government. “That’s not theoretical,” he said. “We need them.”
Already, some New Jersey hospitals are nearing, or have hit, full ventilator capacity. And without a sufficient, centralized stockpile, states are now locked in a bidding war against each other and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for new Chinese-made ventilators. “It’s like being on eBay with fifty states, bidding on a ventilator,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in his daily briefing on Tuesday. “And now FEMA is bidding on top of the fifty, so FEMA is driving up the price. What sense does this make?”
In all the uncertainty surrounding effective treatment of COVID-19, there is one thing doctors and health care workers on the front lines are confident of: A mechanical ventilator will prolong the life of many infected patients, and oftentimes is the difference between survival and death.
Why does COVID-19 require mechanical ventilation?
COVID-19 causes the respiratory tree of the lungs to become infected then inflamed, which in the most severe cases causes pneumonia and requires ventilation. Unfortunately, the severe pneumonia caused by COVID-19 is itself different from the more common, bacterial forms of the lung infection.
“In the setting of bacterial pneumonia, you give antibiotics to kill the bacteria,” said Dr. Andrew R. Berman, the Division Director of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine at University Hospital in Newark. “The problem with the COVID-19 virus is that there’s nothing really to give [patients].”
The combination of the infection and inflammation results in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, an often fatal complication. “The COVID-19 virus is a problem,” Dr. Berman continued. “But the resultant inflammation is really where these patients end up requiring — and sometimes not necessarily responding to — the mechanical ventilation.”
What is a ventilator and how does it work?
“Ventilators are life support for the lungs,” Dr. Berman, who also serves on the American Lung Association’s New Jersey Leadership Board, said. Simply put, a ventilator is a machine that helps a patient breathe when they are unable to do so on their own.
A patient is sedated and intubated, a highly uncomfortable procedure that involves running a tube into the mouth or nose, and down into the windpipe. The tube is connected to the ventilator, which is then calibrated to deliver, or pump, air into the patient’s lungs that ranges from 21% oxygen content — “room air,” as Dr. Berman called it — all the way up to 100%, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition.
But the machines, which cost about $25,000 each (New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday the price has now increased to “over $50,000” because of the bidding war), do much more than pump air into the lungs; in addition to precise percentages of oxygen, they deliver specific flows, volumes and pressures of air, as well as perform constant digital analysis.
Such complexity requires a team of highly skilled operators in the critical-care unit, keeping a round-the-clock watch over a patient whose condition, and oxygen need, is constantly changing. In general, a team of two specialists needs to be on-hand to keep a patient properly ventilated — a respiratory technician, who sets up and troubleshoots the ventilator, and a physician, who oversees the process. The ventilator’s computer then provides digital readouts of each tweak to oxygen, volume and pressure. “It’s a dynamic situation that’s frequently changing,” Dr. Berman said.
How many ventilators will New Jersey need?
In New Jersey there are approximately 2,000 critical-care beds most of which are ventilator-equipped, but the state has projected that it will need to double that number. In order to do that, the state is moving to make room for hundreds more by opening shuttered hospital wings, reopening at least one closed hospital, and building three temporary facilities.
State health officials have said about half the COVID-19 patients now in critical-care beds currently require ventilation, but they fear the need will rise and want every critical-care slot to have this capacity.
Since the federal government has delivered just 850 ventilators, the state is continuing to work on its own to acquire more, in case the outstanding SNS order falls through. “We have not been able to get a non-federal source for acquisition for ventilators successfully,” Murphy said in his Wednesday briefing.
At this point, it’s impossible to know exactly how great New Jersey’s ventilator shortage could become, if at all. Based on the projections for the spread of COVID-19 in New Jersey, Judith Persichilli, the Department of Health Commissioner, said in Wednesday’s briefing by state officials that, with the amount of ventilators the state received from the SNS, “we do believe we’re going to be okay, but we do believe we’re going to be moving ventilators around, from the south to the north, across regions.”
Before the pandemic, the SNS had a total of about 16,600 ventilators — 7,000 have since been distributed nationwide — though a portion of them are not working or require some maintenance and cannot be immediately deployed. This number will fall far short of the need in the coming weeks and months, in which top federal government officials now estimate that the U.S. will see between 100,000 and 240,000 COVID-19 deaths, even under the restrictive social-distancing measures that are being implemented across the country.
Aren’t U.S. companies stepping in to retrofit their factories for production?
On March 21, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a request for information to identify manufacturers who have current capability to produce ventilators, or who can quickly modify current capabilities to make them. But production will not happen overnight — equipment needs to be retrofitted, and additional engineers and experts employed.
Ford and General Electric have announced plans to manufacture a combined 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days, and General Motors is also working to produce the machines. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, also said that his factories have the capability to adapt and help. Last week, the U.K.-based company Dyson announced that it had created, in collaboration with The Technology Partnership, a new ventilator machine of which the U.K.’s National Health Service has already ordered 10,000, and Dyson plans on donating 5,000 of the machines “to the international effort” by this month, 1,000 of which will go to the U.K. (A Dyson spokesperson declined to comment on where the remaining 4,000 machines may go, though they said the company has received requests “from all around the globe.”)
Are there viable alternatives for the full-scale ventilators?
There are other options that can be used as alternatives should hospitals experience a shortage of the full-scale ventilators.
“We have what’s called transport ventilators, which are much smaller and more basic,” Dr. Berman said. Transport ventilators are used when a patient needs to be moved from the ICU to another room in the hospital for other short-term procedures, like, for example, a CAT scan. But these ventilators “only control a few of the many things that can be controlled” in the full-scale units. If the national supply does reach full capacity and there are no more full-scale ventilators available, using transport ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients is “definitely an approach” that should be considered, Dr. Berman said.
In Wednesday’s briefing by state officials, Persichilli reported that New Jersey hospitals have been successfully ventilating COVID-19 patients with anesthesia machines, which are essentially simplified ventilators that cannot perform all of the processes of a full-scale ventilator and are usually used only during surgery.
Dr. Berman also said there are non-invasive methods that are being considered, like “high flow” oxygen therapy, which doesn’t require a tube to be inserted into the patient’s lungs. “Every institution uses them,” he said. “It may be a way to take care of someone’s oxygen needs and stave off mechanical ventilation.”
The use of other non-invasive breathing technologies, like CPAP or BiPAP machines —electronic breathing devices most commonly used in the treatment of sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — has been circulated in recent media reports, but there is some concern among experts that they may not be effective, and even may increase the risk of infectious transmission. “Almost all patients are requiring ventilators for both oxygenation and ventilation,” Dr. Berman said. “And CPAP and BiPAP cannot do these effectively in this population.”
Could hospitals resort to ‘co-venting’?
Murphy and Cuomo have also mentioned “co-venting,” or connecting two patients to the same ventilator, to stretch resources. Dr. Berman acknowledged this is “being discussed by others” — mostly by doctors in New York City — but said that he wasn’t aware of the status of its application in COVID-19 patients. In Thursday’s briefing with state officials, Persichilli confirmed that, currently, no patients in New Jersey are being co-ventilated.
The practice, however, is rare and risky, given the severely weakened state of patients’ lungs and the unique nature of each case; one provider said it is “nearly impossible” to find two patients who are enough of a “match” to make co-venting a success.
Universities are also jumping in to help. Rutgers University, where Dr. Berman is a professor of medicine, has organized some of its engineers to look at how they can produce basic ventilators. At MIT, a “volunteer team of engineers, physicians, computer scientists, and others,” which calls itself MIT E-Vent, is also currently working on simpler, cheaper alternative that can be deployed for emergency use.
At this stage of the pandemic in New Jersey, and the U.S. in general, Dr. Berman said no one approach should be prioritized over another. “All different groups have to work on this from all different sides,” he said. “It’s a supply and demand race — the manufacturers are trying to ramp up supply, and the national stockpile is trying to increase supply, and the demand is created by the COVID virus. Assessing our needs, and how we can meet those needs, is a part of what we do every day.”
Cycling to help find a Cure for Type 1 Diabetes
PARSIPPANY — Lake Hiawatha resident Brian Donlin continues to train and fundraise to help to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Every year, hundreds of cyclists gather in different cities to ride in support of JDRF research at their “Ride to Cure T1D” events. Some are kids and adults with T1D, and some are the friends and family that support them. Brian has known many people in his life that live with T1D, but it really hit home when the diagnosis came to his nephew Zach.
“I remember being pretty young and at my cousin’s house for a party” recalls Brian, “at one point, we didn’t know where my cousin went”. Brian found his cousin in the living room, preparing to give himself a shot of insulin. “I thought it was a little weird but I really didn’t think much more of it at the time. Now watching my nephew live with T1D first hand, I understand what my cousin and my friends have been dealing with for all these years.”
When we last saw Brian, he was just starting his fundraising effort. He is now over a quarter of the way there but still needs more support. Along with personal donations through his JDRF page, click here, and his Facebook fundraiser, he is also seeking potential corporate and business support to help him reach his goal of $3,500. He has been canvasing some of the local businesses with flyers, as well as asking around some of the immediate Lake Hiawatha businesses for help.
He is training for the 100 mile route that takes place in Saratoga Springs, NY on September 12, 2020, along with hundreds of like minded people gathering for a day of fun, camaraderie, and of course, to support the JDRF. You can follow Brian’s progress on his personal site by clicking here and on Strava by clicking here.
In light of the current CoViD-19 health situation, the JDRF has published some great information for those with T1D and how you can keep yourself safe, and how to care for yourself in case you feel sick. While having T1D does not increase your chances of developing the disease, there are some things to stay on top of should you get it. These tips and a wealth of more information can be found by visiting their blog page by clicking here.
Every mile pedaled is a mile closer to a cure. We can’t make it to the finish line without you!
18 Additional Residents Tested Positive for COVID-19
PARSIPPANY — The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills has been informed of 18 additional residents presumptively tested positive for COVID-19. No details on age or gender were provided.
The number of presumptive positive cases in Parsippany-Troy Hills stands at 109 individuals, two of whom have since died from the virus. (This data is as of 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 1).
Morris County has a total of 1105 residents presumptively tested positive for COVID-19. This is an increase of 161 cases from yesterday.
Please remember to continue the best practices of social distancing, washing your hands as often as possible, disinfecting any surfaces you may touch, and avoid touching your face. If you exhibit any symptoms of illness, please remember to consult your personal doctor immediately.
For more information about COVID-19, please visit www.covid19.nj.gov or call 211.
For a complete breakdown of Morris County total presumptively tested positive cases, click here.
Italian American Police Society delivers meals to St. Clare’s
MORRIS COUNTY — More than 50 individual restaurant cooked meals were delivered to the staff at Saint Clare’s Hospital in Denville by Italian American Police Society of NJ President William Schievella and Rockaway Township Mayor Michael Puzio.
Chef Matt Pierone, of Gourmet Cafe, prepared chicken francese, pasta, salad and Italian bread for the Italian American Police Society of NJ to serve the hospital staff.
Thank you to the Rockaway Township Education Assoc. (public school union) for generously splitting the cost of the meals with us.
These brave medical personnel are doing amazing work and deserve a gourmet cooked meal. Italian American police officers know how to eat and so should they.
Jiaherb Donates Personal Protective Equipment to Hospitals Battling COVID-19
MORRIS COUNTY — Jiaherb, Inc., a leading manufacturer of herbal extracts and natural ingredients, has stepped up to support frontline healthcare workers in the U.S. battling the COVID-19 pandemic with the donation of critical medical supplies.
“Given the growing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) in medical facilities, we have an opportunity and an obligation to help,” stated Scott Chen, president of Jiaherb.
The company has supplied over 20,000 pieces of PPE, including surgical masks and coveralls, to its local community hospitals Morristown Medical Center, part of Atlantic Health System in Morristown; and Orange County Medical Center, part of Kaiser Permanente in Anaheim, CA.
Jiaherb has also donated PPE to Levine Children’s Hospital, part of Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC.
“After learning how our local and national healthcare workers are in jeopardy due to shortages of personal protective equipment, we put our own rapid supply chain capability to work on their behalf,” commented Chris Oesterheld, vice-president of Jiaherb.
PPE is an integral tool in reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure among medical professionals. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus that is often spread person-to-person through droplets from coughing and sneezing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Due to the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases across the country, PPE is in high demand and supplies are dwindling in many hospitals—especially in communities hit hardest by the fast-spreading virus.
Chen concluded, “Our thoughts are with those suffering from this pandemic and we are immensely grateful to the healthcare workers who are at the front lines caring for them.”
Jiaherb is an NSF Certified, GMP-compliant manufacturer of natural ingredients and herbal extracts used in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food and beverage industries. For more information click here.
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NJ Labor Department Urges Businesses to Keep Employees on the Payroll through COVID-19
MORRIS COUNTY —The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) is urging employers to keep employees on the payroll throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and to take advantage of a 100 percent, dollar for dollar, payroll tax credit provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The federal law, which goes into effect on April 1, provides unprecedented support to employers to provide federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Paid Family and Medical Leave to workers affected by COVID-19.
The payroll tax credit immediately and fully reimburses employers with fewer than 500 employees (99.8 percent of all NJ employers) by allowing them to reduce their federal payroll taxes by the amount they spent on emergency leave. This tax credit enables businesses to keep workers on their payrolls and ensures that parents and caregivers do not have to make the impossible choice of earning a paycheck or staying at home to care for themselves or a family member.
“Gov. Murphy and his Administration is working around the clock to make sure that working families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are supported, but we cannot do this job alone,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “That is why we are calling on the business community to join us in supporting working families as one New Jersey family.”
All but the state’s largest employers are eligible for the 100 percent federal payroll tax credit for all qualifying wages. Qualifying wages are those paid to an employee who takes leave under the act for a qualifying reason.
Under the act’s federal paid sick leave program, an employee is entitled to 80 hours (up to two weeks) of paid leave. Under the act’s expanded Family and Medical Leave program, an employee is entitled to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, the first two weeks of which are unpaid, and the remaining 10 weeks of which are paid.
- For general questions, please visit the US Department of Labor’s FAQs.
- For more information on which employers are covered under the law, please visit the US Department of Labor Employer Resource Guide.
- To understand how to access FFCRA Business Tax Credits, please visit the Internal Revenue Service resources page.
- For information on how these provisions apply New Jersey, please visit the NJ Labor Department.
- Business owners with questions about accessing the reimbursement from the federal government, please visit the New Jersey Business Action Center.
- Business owners with questions about grants and loans should visit the NJ Economic Development Authority.
- New Jersey workers with questions about eligibility for benefits should view these NJ-focused charts in English and Spanish or visit the US Department of Labor Employee Resource Guide.
Letter to the Editor: Cancellation of Annual Golf Classic
Dear Editor:
Due to the crisis in the world and the effect on our local businesses and families, the Woman’s Club of Parsippany Troy Hills has regretfully cancelled its’ Annual Golf Classic, Luncheon and Tricky Tray that was scheduled to be held on July 14.
This is our largest fundraiser of the year that supports our many educational endeavors, such as scholarships for graduating seniors, awards to our middle school and elementary school students, as well as support of our local library to name just a few.
We look forward to seeing everyone in 2021.
Marilyn Zarzycki
Woman’s Club of Parsippany Troy Hills
Golf Classic Chairperson
Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills Makes Masks
PARSIPPANY — Two members of the Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills, Bernadette Cicchino and Cathy Haney, sewed nineteen cloth face masks for the Troy Hills Convalescent Center in Parsippany. They also passed along a donation of a box of disposable masks from Mary Li of Parsippany. They thank Barbara Lerner of Parsippany and Leslie Moran of Randolph, who each donated elastic for this project.
To make additional masks to donate, our members need narrow elastic (1/4” or 1/8”) to make the ear pieces for the mask. If you have any elastic to spare please email Cathy at [email protected].
The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of NJSFWC, which is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service. General Meetings are held the fourth Monday of each month from September to April at 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Parsippany Rescue & Recovery, 100 Centerton Drive. For more information call Marilyn at (973( 539-3703, e-mail the club at [email protected], click here or follow the club on FACEBOOK.
Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Lieutenant Evelyn Tasoulas Announces Retirement
MORRIS COUNTY — After over twenty years of service to Morris County, Lieutenant Evelyn Tasoulas has announced her retirement. Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker and Captain Robert McNally honored Lt. Tasoulas for her exemplary service and the gratitude of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office on her last day.
As lieutenant of the General Investigations Unit and Pretrial Services Unit, Lt. Tasoulas served in the Court & Administration Division of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. During her tenure, she mentored dozens of county investigators / detectives, primarily in the General Investigations Unit and the Pretrial Services Unit. Prior to joining the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in 1999, Lt. Tasoulas served with the New Jersey Transit Police and as a Corrections Officer.
Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said, “It has been my privilege to have worked with her and to have promoted her twice during my tenure as Morris County Prosecutor. We all wish her well in her retirement and thank her for her steadfast dedication to duty.”
Murphy Administration Launches Emergency Child Care Assistance Program
MORRIS COUNTY — Administration officials with the New Jersey Departments of Children and Families (DCF) and Human Services (DHS) yesterday issued guidance for the Emergency Child Care Assistance Program for children of workers designated as ‘essential’ under Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 110.
Through this program, the state will help support child care costs for essential workers. In order to participate, essential employees who wish to utilize emergency care services must complete an online registration form available by clicking here. The State-supported, county-based Child Care Resource and Referral agencies will reach out to those who register to assist with enrollment and placement.
Executive Order 110 directed the closure of all childcare centers except for those on federal property or military bases, family-based centers caring for five or fewer children, and any centers that register to exclusively provide emergency child care services to essential personnel. Following a registration process last week, nearly 600 childcare agencies statewide have been certified by DCF to provide emergency child care services.
“Our essential workers are keeping our state running every day and every night,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “We are establishing this new Emergency Child Care Program to support them and their families as they continue to serve the residents of New Jersey.”
“Safe, dependable and affordable childcare is vital to working families, particularly now, as so many parents are being called to serve their state in critical roles during a pandemic,” said DCF Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer. “These childcare centers are fulfilling a necessary function and giving parents across the state the peace of mind to go to work knowing their child is with licensed, reliable and skilled professionals.”
“Child care providers and staff who care for the children of essential workers are vitally important to our children and to the state’s response during this ongoing emergency,” Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson said. “We thank child care workers for their hard work and commitment, especially during this difficult time. We urge essential workers who need child care click here. ”
For the month of April, under this program, the state will pay the following rates per week. Once final details are available on federal funds available through the CARES Act, this information will be updated for future months.
State Rate for Emergency Care (Full-time weekly rate for one child)
INFANT – $450.35
TODDLER – $415.70
PRESCHOOL – $415.70
SCHOOL-AGE – $336.00
Families choosing a childcare center with higher rates will need to pay the balance directly to the provider, but such rates cannot exceed up to a limit of 110 percent of the rate the center charged in February 2020.
Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 110 defines ‘essential’ workers as:
Health care workers, including staff working in health care facilities and in community-based services including home health and behavioral health; Law enforcement personnel, fire and emergency services personnel, and correctional facility staff; Individuals employed at emergency child care centers operating on or after April 1, 2020; Staff working for entities that provide essential social services, including, but not limited to, group home and shelter staff; Essential government employees who are unable to work from home, including child protection services workers, child welfare workers, foster care workers, unemployment compensation processing staff, and public health employees; and,
Certain critical workers, as defined by the Commissioner of DCF, at essential retail businesses, as defined in Executive Order No. 107 (2020) and subsequent Administrative Orders, which includes, for example, grocery store and gas station employees.
More information can be found on the ChildcareNJ website.
Mayor Warns Price Gouging Retail Stores Will Be Prosecuted to Full Extent of the Law
PARSIPPANY — Police responded to reports of a local retailer selling water and toilet paper at significantly inflated prices during the State of Emergency.
During the investigation, Police determined that the store was selling 40-packs of Poland Spring and Kirkland bottled water for $11.99 each, and 4-packs of Angel Soft toilet paper for $8.99.
Kirkland, a proprietary brand sold exclusively by Costco, currently sells the same 40-pack of bottled water on sale for $2.99 (suggesting a 400% price markup), while the Poland Spring 40-pack of water sells on their website on sale for $3.99 (a 300% price markup). Walmart currently sells the 4-pack of Angel Soft toilet paper for $3.98 (a 200% price markup).
“Price gouging during a time of health and financial crisis is unconscionable,” said Parsippany Mayor Michael Soriano. “At a time when so many in our community are pooling together resources to help those in need, it is particularly disgusting to jack up the prices of essentials for the sole purpose of massive profits. Price gouging must not continue, and believe me, it will be prosecuted.”
The incident report will be sent to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, which will review the complaint and conduct their own follow-up investigation to determine if the retailer has committed price-gouging during the State of Emergency. Ultimately if complaints are found to be credible, retailers committing price-gouging can be fined up to
$10,000 upon their first offense, and $20,000 for subsequent events.
“I want to thank the Parsippany Police Department for their swift action investigating these complaints,” Mayor Soriano continued. “Now more than ever, we need people to speak up against those taking advantage of ordinary citizens. We will only get through this emergency by working together, caring for each other, and protecting each other.”
According to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, “This Law [Against Price Gouging] prohibits excessive price increases during a declared state of emergency, or for 30 days after the termination of the state of emergency. Excessive price increases are defined as price increases that are more than 10 percent higher than the price at which merchandise was sold during the normal course of business prior to the state of emergency.”
Anyone who thinks they’ve been the target of a scheme related to COVID-19 or who believes that a business has increased prices unfairly can file a complaint online by clicking here or call (973) 504-6240.
NJEDA Announces Application Launch Date for Grants for Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
MORRIS COUNTY — The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will launch the application for its Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program on Friday, April 3, at 9:00 a.m. A link to the grant program application will be posted on the State’s COVID-19 Business Information Hub. The grant program is part of a package of initiatives announced last week to support businesses and workers facing economic hardship due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
“The launch of the grant program application marks a critical step in the State’s support of the small and mid-sized businesses that are feeling the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “The livelihood of business owners and their employees hinges on how successfully businesses can withstand this ongoing challenge. Under Governor Phil Murphy’s leadership, the State is committed to advancing resources that will help businesses recover.”
The NJEDA’s COVID-19 initiatives focus on businesses that have been hit hardest by the novel coronavirus outbreak: local small businesses, mid-size businesses that have had to close or drastically reconfigure operations, and new businesses that were just getting on their feet before the crisis hit. The programs provide a suite of compatible offerings that address these businesses’ varied needs and include mechanisms to provide funding and assistance as quickly as possible.
The NJEDA developed these relief programs using the results of an online survey of small and mid-sized businesses conducted over March 20 and 21.
The survey, which was conducted in both English and Spanish, received more than 2,000 responses. Key findings that informed the NJEDA’s new programs include:
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on New Jersey’s business community, with 73 percent of organizations surveyed reporting a significant loss of revenue and/or contract commitments. The accommodation & food services and arts & entertainment sectors have been hit particularly hard.
Many businesses anticipate needing to lay off workers if support is not available, with 52 percent of respondents suggesting temporary lay-offs may be necessary if they do not receive support within the next three months.
Businesses need financial support, but are not requesting large sums. 96 percent of respondents predicted they would need financial assistance within the next three months, with the average amount of funding needed falling between $50,000 and $75,000.
Applications for other NJEDA COVID-19 programs, including no/low interest loans, entrepreneurship support, and technical assistance for those applying for U.S. Small Business Administration loans will be available in the coming weeks. Businesses and nonprofits can find eligibility requirements for all programs on the COVID-19 Business Information Hub or use the Eligibility Wizard to identify which emergency assistance programs they may want to consider for their business’s specific needs. Comprehensive information about New Jersey’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak is available by clicking here.
Eligibility Guidelines for Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program
Businesses applying for the Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program must provide:
A contact who is authorized to speak on behalf of the company.
Basic information about the company:
Registered legal name and “Doing Business As” name (available here: https://www.njportal.com/DOR/BusinessNameSearch/Search/BusinessName;
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN);
Year your company was established;
Full-time employees as of December 31, 2019 and Part-Time Employees as of December 31, 2019.
Industry as defined by your NAICS code (Click here).
Answers to the State’s basic debarment questions (Click here for application here).
Certification that the business:
Is not a home-based business;
Is not a prohibited business;
Has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak;
Has a material financial need that cannot be overcome without the grant funds;
Will make a best effort not to lay off any additional employees and re-hire any whom have already been laid off;
The NJEDA may check your entries against other State sources of data.
NJEDA has developed an online Grant Award Size Estimate Calculator to help eligible businesses understand what their potential grant size might be.
About the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) serves as the State’s principal agency for driving economic growth. The NJEDA is committed to making New Jersey a national model for inclusive and sustainable economic development by focusing on key strategies to help build strong and dynamic communities, create good jobs for New Jersey residents, and provide pathways to a stronger and fairer economy. Through partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders, the NJEDA creates and implements initiatives to enhance the economic vitality and quality of life in the State and strengthen New Jersey’s long-term economic competitiveness.
Sherrill Announces More than $7.9 Million in COVID Recovery Grants
PARSIPPANY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) announced today that counties and municipalities in the 11th Congressional District will receive more than $7.9 million in COVID-19 Recovery Grants as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties will receive a combined $7 million dollars in COVID Recovery Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), and Parsippany, Bloomfield, and Wayne will receive hundreds of thousands in funding from the CDBG Program.
These U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants were funded through the CARES Act, the third piece of coronavirus response legislation, which Sherrill helped pass last week. The CDBG and ESG grants will help states and municipalities build capacity to address the COVID-19 crisis, spur economic development, address homelessness and support transitional housing, and secure housing assistance for low-income individuals.
“Our counties and towns are working around the clock to provide support for our residents as we face the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19,” said Representative Sherrill. “I fought to get increased, direct, and rapid support for New Jersey and our community into the CARES Act. These grants will help our local governments in their ongoing response efforts, and I will continue to work with our local elected officials to respond to their needs.”
Essex County:
$3.22M CDBG20-COVID Recovery; $1.57M ESG20-COVID Recovery
Morris County:
$1.16M CDBG20-COVID Recovery; $587K ESG20-COVID Recovery
Passaic County:
$537K CDBG20-COVID Recovery
Parsippany:
$127K CDBG20-COVID Recovery
Bloomfield:
$615K CDBG20-COVID Recovery
Wayne:
$115K CDBG20-COVID Recovery
Township Council Meetings to be held Remotely
PARSIPPANY — Due to the recent Executive Order issued by the Governor as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills determined that all regularly scheduled council meetings will be held remotely as the building is closed to the public; therefore, the public will not be able to physically attend any Township Council meetings until further notice.
However, the public will be able to email any questions or comments to [email protected] and the questions and comments will be read into the record by the municipal clerk. This ensures that the public retains the right to provide public comment at these public meetings.
We appreciate your understanding and anticipated cooperation during these times.
Parsippany Focus will publish the recording of all Township Council meetings.