Report: Shelved renos could have ‘avoided tragedy’
Holyoke Soldiers’ Home flagged for work in 2012
Plans shelved eight years ago to remodel or completely replace the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where 76 veterans have died in the coronavirus pandemic, could have “avoided tragedy” if the state had acted quicker, a new report reveals.
“It’s disgraceful that it took a tragedy like this to bring the state to act,” said state Sen. Eric Lesser, who represents Holyoke. “It seems clear that there was a degree to which the facilities contributed to the spread through the crowding, cafeteria and those elements.”
A report released on Veterans Day underscored the “devastating” impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that spread furiously through the aging 68-year-old “functionally obsolete (facility) with multi-occupancy bedrooms and shared toilets, with current ratios of up to 9 residents per toilet.”
“While the Commonwealth has completed and continues to deploy short term mitigation strategies, a long-term permanent solution is necessary.”
The state should consider substantial renovations or total replacement of the 247bed facility, the 79-page assessment finds. The home’s current configuration does not meet U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid standards and hasn’t for nearly a decade.
The report, led by architectural firm Payette, recommends improving the layout, updating HVAC systems and building a new addition of 180 to 205 single rooms with private bathrooms, which it says would be “important tools to combat COVID and other infectious diseases.”
The facility should discontinue costly outpatient services and providing housing for veterans with no medical needs, the report said.
Veterans’ Secretary Cheryl Lussier Poppe called the report a “significant milestone” in a renovation project that has dragged on for years.
“Many of the tragedies could have been avoided had the state acted sooner,” Lesser said.
The Holyoke Soldiers’ Home was initially flagged for renovation in 2012 — even earning matching fund approval from the VA — but no progress would be made until nearly 2,000 friends, family members and advocates of veterans who were sickened or died from COVID-19 inside the facility this year circulated a petition demanding changes be made.
Meanwhile, the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home earned matching funds and approval for a $199 million renovation project in 2017. Construction started the next year.
Gov. Charlie Baker said he thinks the improvements will “ensure that the facility remains safe and able to support the Commonwealth’s veterans as they age.”
His administration will finance the Holyoke project through the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.