MISMANAGEMENT AT THE Holyoke Soldiers’ Home undoubtedly contributed to the high COVID-19 death toll there in the first days of the pandemic. The question before the state’s highest court is whether the actions of the home’s former leaders may have constituted criminal behavior. During oral arguments on Wednesday, Supreme Judicial Court justices asked pointed questions […]
Holyoke Soldiers’ Home
Posted inHealth Care
Mass. agrees to pay $56m to settle Holyoke Soldiers’ Home lawsuit
THE STATE HAS AGREED to pay $56 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by veterans who contracted COVID-19 and the families of veterans who died at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in a 2020 outbreak. Tom Lesser, an attorney representing the veterans, announced at a hearing conducted by telephone on Thursday that the settlement […]
Posted inHealth Care
Beacon Hill divided on soldiers’ home governance
THE DEVASTATING toll COVID-19 took on the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home made headlines, and was even discussed at a congressional hearing. But attempts at reforming the home are coming down to a far less sensational debate that is largely about administrative bureaucracy: how to best structure the home’s governance to ensure leaders of the home are […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Judge dismisses criminal charges against Bennett Walsh
A HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT judge on Monday dismissed all criminal charges against former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home superintendent Bennett Walsh and medical director David Clinton for their roles in the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the home. Attorney General Maura Healey had filed charges against the two top Soldiers’ Home officials alleging that their reckless conduct in […]
Posted inHealth Care
Bill scraps boards of trustees at soldiers’ homes
A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE charged with recommending reforms to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home after a devastating COVID-19 outbreak released a 12-page bill on Thursday that would revamp the leadership and organizational structure of both the state’s veterans’ homes. The key change would eliminate the current boards of trustees at the Chelsea and Holyoke soldiers’ homes, replacing them with a statewide […]
Posted inHealth Care
Holyoke Soldiers’ Home report details ‘crisis of leadership’
A REPORT BY a legislative committee formed to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home that left 77 veterans dead faulted a “crisis of leadership” for substantially contributing to what it called a “perfect storm” and a “preventable tragedy.” “As we outline in this report, the causes were both immediate, including inexplicable decisions […]
Posted inHealth Care
Critics say Holyoke Soldiers’ Home chronically underfunded
THE OUTCOME OF COVID-19 at the state-run Holyoke and Chelsea soldiers’ homes could not have been more different. The Holyoke home was the site of a massive outbreak in which 76 veterans died, and it became a national example of how not to handle a pandemic. Attorney General Maura Healey announced criminal charges Friday against the former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home superintendent […]
Posted inHealth Care
Federal funds sought for Holyoke Soldiers’ Home renovations
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION has hired a company to begin an “expedited” process to renovate the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The exact timing of construction remains uncertain, but the administration’s goal is to apply to the US Department of Veterans Affairs by an April 15, 2021, deadline for a federal construction grant. The timing of the project […]
Posted inHealth Care
$176 million lawsuit filed against Holyoke Soldiers’ Home officials
THE FAMILY OF a veteran who died of COVID-19 at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home is filing a class action lawsuit against former Superintendent Bennett Walsh, former Secretary of Veterans’ Services Francisco Urena, and other state officials, arguing that they are responsible for the deaths of 76 veterans at the home. The lawsuit filed in US District […]
Posted inHealth Care
Lawmakers urged dig deeper on Holyoke Soldiers’ Home reforms
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER filed a bill proposing oversight and governance reforms at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home after the deaths of at least 76 veteran residents with COVID-19, he urged lawmakers to act on it swiftly. Legislators on the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee got the opposite message at a hearing […]