Insider says mice, filth at Toms River healthcare center

Mice running throughout the kitchen, leaving droppings everywhere. Residents with clothing that smelled of urine. Rooms filled with broken furniture, moldy mattresses and cigarette burns on floors and walls.

These were only some of the sights that Neil Nunez says he witnessed during his eight months as a cook at Dover Woods, the troubled residential health care facility located off Route 70 in Toms River. For most of that time, Nunez said, he served as head cook, preparing daily meals for about 165 to 175 residents who lived there.

Nunez, 36, of Toms River, described Dover Woods as a facility whose residents are "just thrown in there and left to rot." He said the facility "is like the ninth circle of hell."

"I'm not a disgruntled employee," said Nunez, who now works at a restaurant in Beachwood. "I just know right from wrong. If you can't do it the right way, you shouldn't do it at all."

Nunez's employment could not be verified because the owner of Dover Woods did not return calls for comment. One of the photos Nunez provided to the Asbury Park Press showed him inside what appears to be the kitchen of the facility.

Nunez's complaints are no surprise to officials in Toms River, who have long complained to the state of problems at Dover Woods.

The 236-bed facility has been the busiest spot for police calls in the township of 94,000. Last year, Toms River police went to Dover Woods 261 times. They have been to the facility 164 times so far this year, Toms River Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher said.

The calls included responses to fights, missing persons, thefts, and general disturbances, the mayor said. There were two deaths at the facility last year and one so far this year, but none of the deaths was deemed suspicious by police, Kelaher said.

"One of the problems we have is all of those calls require back-up. We can't just send one officer," Kelaher said.

Dover Woods, which houses elderly and disabled residents, those recovering from drug addiction, homeless people and those who have been discharged from state psychiatric hospitals, is the largest residential care facility in the state. It is owned by Erez Healthcare Realty Co. of Lakewood, according to property records. It has been licensed as a residential health care facility since 1986.

Officials from Erez Healthcare could not be reached for comment for this story. They have not responded to calls for comment on past stories.

Dover Woods is inspected once a year by the state Department of Community Affairs. The most recent inspection occurred in November, but its results could not be obtained by the Press in time for publication in this story.

Residential health care facilities like Dover Woods are sometimes confused with boarding homes. Unlike boarding homes, residential care facilities must provide access to nursing care for those who live there. The facility also cannot restrict residents from leaving the building. Residents are allowed to come and go as they please, like those who live in a typical apartment complex.

Ellen Lovejoy, a spokeswoman from the state Department of Health and Senior Services, said 20 patients have been discharged from state psychiatric hospitals to Dover Woods in fiscal years 2013 and 2014. A total of 4,421 patients have been discharged from state hospitals during that time. Those patients receive follow-up services for at least a year after leaving the hospital, Lovejoy said.

Many residents of Dover Woods leave the facility daily to attend day programs and to receive counseling.

Bob Davison, director of the Mental Health Association of Essex County, said he is disappointed that any psychiatric patients are being discharged to Dover Woods and other residential health care centers.

"It's disheartening and tragic that this condition persists," Davison said.

Davison knows first-hand about conditions inside Dover Woods. In March 2012, he posed as a homeless man and checked into Dover Woods for two days. He kept a journal of his time there, which included descriptions of people hallucinating, fighting and general indifference by the facility's staff.

Nunez described similar conditions, but added that the facility is infested with mice, which occasionally ran across his feet while he was cooking and left their droppings throughout the building. At least two residents were bitten by spiders and had to be hospitalized for treatment during his time there, Nunez said.

He said some rooms had moldy mattresses and broken box springs, while others were infested with bed bugs.

Nunez said the food served to residents was of poor quality. Once, he was told to serve cucumbers that were moldy. Ground beef was paste-like and clumpy, while milk was sometimes sour. An old stove allowed grease to accumulate and sparked three grease fires during his time there, Nunez said.

On four or five occasions, Nunez said, he stayed overnight at Dover Woods during snowstorms to make sure he would be there in time to cook breakfast. Those were mostly sleepless nights.

"There were people screaming, doors banging, arguments, yelling for cigarettes; then you'd hear people yelling back for others to shut up," he said. One night, he was bitten at least three times on the arm by an insect he believes was a spider.

In 2009, the township sued Erez Healthcare, claiming that conditions in the facility posed a danger to its residents and a hazard to its neighbors.

The lawsuit was settled in 2010, with the owners agreeing to install more lighting, a new fence between Dover Woods' property and the neighboring Ramada Inn and security cameras. Township officials say the improvements did little to solve problems at the facility.

Kelaher said nothing has changed at Dover Woods in the four years since the township settled the lawsuit.

"The police problems still continue," he said. Nearby businesses frequently complain that residents panhandle in parking lots, urinate in front of stores and sometimes attempt to shoplift merchandise. One resident walked into the shopping plaza completely naked.

The owners of the nearby Ramada Inn sued Dover Woods, arguing that the facility violated township land-use ordinances and the conditions of its initial 1983 approval by Toms River's Planning Board. The Ramada's owners argued that Dover Woods has hurt the hotel's business. But the court ruled in favor of Dover Woods last year, finding no evidence that its operation violated township zoning laws.

Since 2007, three Dover Woods residents have been struck and killed by vehicles while attempting to cross Route 9. The most recent death happened in 2012. And there have been other serious incidents involving Dover Woods residents.

In 2008, Encarnacion Pourie, 27, attempted to rob the Wachovia Bank branch near Dover Woods. He was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty.

In 2005, a 61-year-old man died in a fire at Dover Woods. A 44-year-old man who lived in a neighboring room was found not guilty by reason of insanity after he said God told him to set the fire.

Many Dover Woods residents receive Supplemental Security Income, a federal income supplement for elderly, disabled and blind people who have little or no income. Others receive Social Security disability income if they cannot work because of a disability.

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, jmikle@app.com