Veterans home in U.S. charged over deaths

BOSTON • Two former heads of a Massachusetts veterans home have been indicted on criminal neglect charges for their roles in handling a COVID-19 outbreak that killed 76 people, the state’s attorney general said on Friday.

Massachusetts Attorney Maura Healey said the criminal case against the former officials at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home was believed to be the first yet linked to an outbreak at a U. S. nursing facility during the pandemic.

The case against former Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director David Clinton stemmed from a March decision to consolidate two dementia units, putting COVID-19 positive residents within feet of ones without symptoms, Healey said.

“To think about this now, knowing how contagious and deadly this virus is and continues to be is most disturbing, and the alleged details are even worse,” Healey said.

In a tribute to the victims, Healey said: “They risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy to some, the jungles of Vietnam ... And to know that they died under the most horrific of circumstances is truly shocking.”

Authorities began investigating the Soldiers’ Home, a 247- bed, state- run facility in Holyoke that provides health care, hospice care, nursing and other services to veterans, after learning of “serious issues” with infection control procedures.

The U. S. Justice Department has also launched a related investigation into conditions at the facility.

The indictment in Hampden County Superior Court charges Walsh and Clinton with five counts of “wantonly or recklessly” committing or permitting bodily injury, and five counts for abuse, neglect or mistreatment of an elderly or disabled person.

Walsh plans to plead not guilty, his lawyer, Tracy Miner, said. The retired Marine officer had been appointed to the position in 2016 by the state’s governor.

“It is unfortunate that the Attorney General is blaming the effects of a deadly virus that our state and federal governments have not been able to stop on Bennett Walsh,” she said.

Walsh could not prevent the spread of the virus to the veterans’ home, and relied on medical professionals to do what was best for the residents,” a statement of Walsh’s legal team said.