New Jersey Administrative Code
Title - EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Title 55 - CHRIS CHRISTIE
Section - Executive Order No. 112 (2020)

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024

Governor Philip D. Murphy

Executive Order No. 112 (2020)

An Order Directing the Removal of Barriers to Health Care Professionals Joining New Jersey's COVID-19 Response and Provide Protections for Front Line Health Care Responders

Issued: April 1, 2020.

Effective: April 1, 2020.

WHEREAS, on February 3, 2020, through Executive Order No. 102 (2020), I created the State's Coronavirus Task Force, chaired by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of

Health ("DOH"), in order to coordinate the State's efforts to appropriately prepare for and respond to the public health hazard posed by Coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19"); and

WHEREAS, on March 9, 2020, through Executive Order No. 103 (2020), the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, I declared both a Public Health Emergency and a State of Emergency throughout the State due to the public health hazard created by COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with N.J.S.A. App. A:9-34 and -51, I reserved the right to utilize and employ all available resources of State government to protect against the emergency created by COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, through Executive Order No. 104 (2020), the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, I established statewide social mitigation strategies for combatting COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, in recognition that the Centers for Disease Control ("CDC") has advised that social mitigation strategies for combatting COVID-19 require every effort to reduce the rate of community spread of the disease and that COVID-19 spreads most frequently through person-to-person contact when individuals are within six feet or less of one another, I issued Executive Order No. 107 (2020), on March 21, 2020, the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, which ordered steps to mitigate community spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, even as we institute social distancing measures, the number of COVID-19 cases in New Jersey is anticipated to continue to increase for the immediate future, meaning we must take all possible steps to expand our healthcare system's capacity to treat those who require emergency or intensive care; and

WHEREAS, as of March 31, 2020, according to the World Health Organization, there were over 750,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, with over 36,000 of those cases having resulted in death; and

WHEREAS, as of March 31, 2020, according to the CDC, there were over 163,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with over 2,800 of those cases having resulted in death; and

WHEREAS, as of March 31, 2020, there were over 18,600 positive cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey, with at least 267 of those cases having resulted in death; and

WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, through Executive Order No. 109 (2020), the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, I suspended elective surgeries and invasive procedures, which necessarily draw upon the skill and time of critical healthcare professionals and involve the use of equipment and supplies that may be needed to treat those who are critically ill; required that all businesses and non-hospital healthcare facilities submit an inventory to the State of the Personal Protective Equipment ("PPE"), ventilators, respirators, and anesthesia machines they have in their possession that are not required for the provision of critical healthcare services; and took other actions to protect and conserve the resources of our healthcare system, and limit unnecessary in- person contacts in healthcare settings, to more effectively combat the spread of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, on March 28, 2020, through Executive Order No. 111 (2020), the facts and circumstances of which are adopted by reference herein, I ordered healthcare facilities to begin reporting daily data on their capacity and supplies, including bed capacity, ventilators, and PPE; and

WHEREAS, even as we suspend elective surgery and elective invasive procedures, the number of COVID-19 cases in New Jersey will likely require the skills and time of more healthcare professionals across the State, including, but not limited to physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, registered professional nurses, licensed practical nurses, and respiratory care therapists and others whose training and experience enable them to manage critically ill patients, perform essential invasive procedures, conduct diagnostic testing or render general medical care to patients presenting with non-COVID-19 emergencies, meaning we must take all possible steps to expand our healthcare system's capacity to treat those who require emergency or intensive care, while still meeting the ongoing urgent medical needs of our residents; and

WHEREAS, in addition to steps already taken by my Administration to expand access to telemedicine and telehealth and to facilitate temporarily the licensure of out-of-state healthcare professionals, it is in the public interest to expeditiously expand the supply of available and qualified healthcare professionals permitted to treat New Jersey patients, by temporarily reactivating the licenses of recently retired New Jersey healthcare professionals; by temporarily authorizing the practice in New Jersey of foreign doctors in good standing in other jurisdictions; and by facilitating the ability of appropriately credentialed healthcare professionals to safely prescribe controlled dangerous substances to New Jersey residents, notwithstanding certain existing requirements that would serve to delay or preclude such individuals from supporting the State's response to the COVID-19 outbreak; and

WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to expand the scope of practice of those healthcare professionals who under current law practice with individualized physician oversight, so that they can be deployed to meet the anticipated needs with more autonomy, greater agility and with all necessary tools, including independent authority to prescribe controlled dangerous substances when appropriate; and

WHEREAS, despite the best efforts of our healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities, based on modelling of the spread of the virus and mortality rates elsewhere, we must position our morgues, mortuaries and cemeteries to handle an increase in the need for such services, and facilitate the provision of such services at a time when individuals have limited ability to leave their homes and a decedent's next of kin may themselves be quarantined; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. App. A:9-47, the Governor is authorized to, among other things, suspend any regulatory provision of law when its enforcement is detrimental to the public welfare during an emergency; and

WHEREAS, there are presently statutory provisions designed to safeguard the health and safety of the public, including by ensuring that healthcare professionals meet the highest standards before entering or reentering their fields, and that they practice together as members of a skilled team, and these provisions can, in a time of crisis such as this, thwart or delay our efforts to respond rapidly to emerging needs by establishing conditions and barriers that deprive the healthcare system of the agility to best utilize available resources in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, and avoid overwhelming the capacity of the system; and

WHEREAS, the Commissioner of Health has determined that the State needs the help of additional qualified health, mental health, and related professionals to supplement our healthcare capacity on a temporary basis; and

WHEREAS, on March 27, 2020, the Commissioner of Health launched a portal for healthcare professionals to identify themselves as willing and able to support New Jersey's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as information that would allow a qualified professional to be connected with opportunities suitable for someone with his or her skillset; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature enacted P.L. 2020, c. 4, to facilitate temporary licensure by reciprocity for out-of-state healthcare professionals, and the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Consumer Affairs ("DCA") has taken action to expedite licensure by reciprocity; and

WHEREAS, in light of the emergent need for the measures adopted herein and adopted previously to supplement the workforce by bringing in healthcare professionals who have not previously maintained liability coverage; by facilitating the deployment of retirees, out- of-state healthcare professionals, and foreign doctors; and by calling upon healthcare professionals to perform acts that they would not perform in the ordinary course of business, it is in the public interest to afford such individuals protection against liability for good faith actions taken in their efforts to offer assistance in response to the call to supplement the healthcare workforce; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. App. A:9-52, neither the State nor any political subdivision of the State under any circumstances, nor the agents, officers, employees, servants or representatives of the State or any political subdivision thereof, including all volunteers, in good faith carrying out, complying with, or attempting to comply with, any order, rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the Disaster Control Act or performing any authorized service in connection therewith, shall be liable for any injury or death to persons or damage to property as the result of any such activity; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:13-19, public entities and employees of public entities are granted broad immunity for any good faith acts or omissions in connection with a public health emergency, or preparatory activities, performed pursuant to any order, rule or regulation adopted in response to a public health emergency; and

WHEREAS, the immunity granted in N.J.S.A. 26:13-19 extends to private entities, including healthcare providers, for injuries caused by acts or omissions in connection with a public emergency, or preparatory activities, that are exercised in good faith and pursuant to any order, rule or regulation adopted in response to a public health emergency; and

WHEREAS, N.J.S.A. 45:9-27.18a contemplates that physician assistants may respond to a need for medical care created by an emergency or a State or local disaster by rendering care without the physician supervision that is ordinarily required, and provides a degree of immunity from liability for physicians and physician assistants for certain personal injuries resulting from such acts or omissions; and

WHEREAS, healthcare providers and facilities may be called upon to engage in acts or omissions that are critical to State's response to the unprecedented crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that may not have been contemplated by the Legislature when it enacted existing statutory immunity provisions; and

WHEREAS, the strict enforcement of certain statutory provisions that delay the State's efforts to rapidly respond to the spread of COVID-19 is detrimental to the public welfare; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution and statutes of the State of New Jersey, particularly the provisions of N.J.S.A. 26:13-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. App. A: 9-33 et seq., N.J.S.A. 38A:3-6.1, and N.J.S.A. 38A:2- 4 and all amendments and supplements thereto, confer upon the Governor of the State of New Jersey certain emergency powers, which I have invoked;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT: