Hagedorn in Lebanon Twp.

One of the many buildings on the Hagedorn campus in Lebanon Township. (File photo by Rick Epstein | Hunterdon County Democrat)

LEBANON TWP. - The state has designated the former Sen. Garrett W. Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital here as a location where some Ebola patients could be quarantined, according to township Mayor Thomas McKee.

McKee said that he's been told Hagedorn has recently been inspected and designated as a safe location for the purpose of quarantine.

"The state has plans in place," the mayor said. He has questions about the plans and protocols and is reaching out to county and state health officials. "I don't want to alarm people," the mayor said, but, "We're guarded, we're cautious."

Lebanon Township Fire Chief Edward Schaffer has been in contact with the state over its plans, the mayor said.

Freeholder Robert Walton lives in Hampton, "almost within eyesight" of Hagedorn, which is on the opposite side of Route 31 from his home. "I am not alarmed," Walton said.

"The state is making preparations for an Ebola outbreak, should that happen," Walton said. He said Hunterdon County Health Officer and Epidemiologist Karen DeMarco have been briefed by state officials about that plan, which she shared with county Chief of Staff-Director of Public Safety George Wagner and Brayden Fahey, the Hunterdon's coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management.

McKee said he hasn't heard from county or state officials and is reaching out to them as well as state legislators.

Dawn Thomas, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, said that for any patient requiring quarantine because of Ebola, the "

preference is to quarantine individuals at home. If that is not possible, the Department of Human Services will find temporary housing for the individual.

"

McKee said Hagedorn's East Ward would be used for the facility's patients. It has 16 rooms and patients would be kept secure and isolated within those rooms, he said.

State Department of Health spokesperson Dawn Thomas said that on Wednesday, the state designated three hospitals to receive any Ebola-suspected cases: Hackensack University Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in new Brunswick and University Hospital in Newark. The state has purchased nearly $1 million worth of personal protection equipment for health care employees, she said.

Hagedorn was founded in 1907 as the state Sanatorium for Chest Diseases at Mount Kipp and shuttered in 1976. It was later designated as Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital, and was closed amidst controversy in 2011. Its fate was sealed after a controversial decision that became final when Gov. Chris Christie signed the state budget. Closing the facility was expected to save $9 million and reduce New Jersey’s reliance on institutions.

The site is sprawled over a 600-acre campus and most of its buildings were mothballed. Part of the site now includes Veteran's Haven North, a 100-bed, temporary home and training center for homeless veterans. It's run by the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, but is hundreds of yards away from the site's main buildings.

DeMarco said, "What's important to remember is the mode of transmission" of the virus. "It is only through direct contact with bodily fluids of someone who is is symptomatic."

State Department of Human Services spokesperson Nicole Brossoie, in a written statement, said, "

As detailed during the Governor's press conference Wednesday, the Department of Human Services has identified sites at which temporary housing will be provided to asymptomatic out-of-state travelers that are required to be quarantined. Due to confidentiality rules and matters of security, we are not disclosing the locations.

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Curtis Leeds may be reached at cleeds@njnpublishing.com. Find The Hunterdon County Democrat on Facebook.