Correction Department denies unsafe conditions at Bridgewater
Says agency spent $1.7m remediating environmental hazards
By 
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Correction is disputing the findings in a report that said the agency has refused to address pervasive mold and the potential for asbestos exposure at Bridgewater State Hospital. In fact, Correction Commissioner Carol Mici said, the agency has spent $1.7 million addressing the problems.
The Disability Law Center, an independent organization with legal authority to monitor the hospital, has called for the closure of Bridgewater State Hospital, which is the state’s secure institution for people with severe mental illness who are incarcerated, civilly committed, or being held pre-trial. The DLC issued a report, which was given to the agency on January 31, detailing extensive environmental hazards.
On Wednesday, Mici wrote a seven-page letter to Tatum Pritchard, the interim director of the Disability Law Center, detailing DOC’s response. “The DOC carefully reviewed the report and disagrees with DLC’s allegations that the condition of the physical plant is unsafe, that DOC’s mold remediation has been deficient, and that care of Persons Served is contrary to state law,” Mici wrote.
As CommonWealth previously reported, the DLC report said people living or working at the hospital have for years complained of symptoms consistent with exposure to poor quality air. In 2019, an expert hired by the Disability Law Center found mold growing throughout the facility. The Department of Correction said it took remedial action, but follow-up testing in 2021 found many of the same, or worse, conditions. There was visible mold growth in many inspected areas, mold growing within the HVAC systems, and dampness and a mold odor in the basements.
The DOC wrote in its response that Bridgewater State Hospital was recently reaccredited by a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and that review considered issues related to the physical facility.
“The DOC is committed to maintaining BSH’s physical plant and has taken significant actions to address the safety challenges that can arise in an older facility such as BSH,” Mici wrote. “Because of these efforts, and in spite of its age, BSH remains a safe and healthy environment for employees, visitors, and Persons Served.”
Mici wrote that the DOC has spent $1.7 million in recent years remediating mold and asbestos and making other facility improvements, in response to earlier reports by the Disability Law Center. As recently as 2021, DOC repaired roofs, water leaks, heating controls, and pipes; purchased new air conditioning units; and replaced filters and belts on air handlers. This month, in response to the DLC report, it approved spending another $88,000 for air quality testing and mold and asbestos remediation.
The DOC also said the Disability Law Center’s finding that Bridgewater State Hospital should be closed or transferred to the authority of the Department of Mental Health is a policy conclusion, not an oversight one, and constitutes advocacy that falls “somewhere beyond or at least at the very outer limits of DLC’s statutory responsibilities.”