Leaders Indicted At Soldiers’ Home Where At Least 76 People Died In COVID-19 Outbreak

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An American flag flew at half-mast at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts last spring, when dozens of veterans died at the facility. Two of its leaders are now facing criminal neglect charges over their handling of a COVID-19 outbreak.





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The criminal charges are believed to be the first in the U.S. to target an operator of a nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Healey said. Around the country, nursing and long-term care facilities have emerged as hotspots of coronavirus cases and deaths.

The move to consolidate the dementia units was tied to a staffing shortage as an outbreak ravaged the home’s workers. The criminal charges come months after a state inquiry faulted the home’s leaders for failing to adequately quarantine people who were showing COVID-19 symptoms.

Gov. Charlie Baker has said the case is «nothing short of gut-wrenching. He promised reforms after an investigation found the leadership team made «substantial errors that likely added to the death toll.

«Indeed, some of the critical decisions made by Mr. Walsh and his leadership team during the final two weeks of March 2020 were utterly baffling from an infection-control perspective, the investigation’s report stated, «and were inconsistent with the Home’s mission to treat its veterans with honor and dignity.

Crucially, the investigation said that the home’s officials should have seized a chance to reorganize their dementia units — into one unit with veterans known or suspected of having COVID-19 and the other with veterans who showed no symptoms — instead of lumping all the veterans together.

«In the past, a lawyer for Walsh has repeatedly called the state report inaccurate, member station WBUR’s Miriam Wasser reports, «and charged that the governor is using his client as a scapegoat. Walsh’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment today about the charge.

In addition to at least 76 people who died, more than 160 other patients and staff were infected with the coronavirus. Early in the outbreak, the home’s leaders were also accused of not informing local and state officials about the deaths in a timely manner.

The home in Holyoke, about 90 miles west of Boston, was established in 1952 to provide services to veterans who live in Massachusetts. It offers a wide range of services, from outpatient procedures to long-term care and hospice. Its main nursing facility includes 247 beds; a separate dorm building has 30 full-time residents, according to the soldiers’ home website.