Work has started to construct a new long-term care facility for veterans in western Massachusetts – a project that was propelled by a COVID-19 tragedy.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey led a contingent of state and federal officials at the ceremonial groundbreaking Monday for a five-year project to build a new Holyoke Veterans’ Home that will replace the 70-year-old former Soldiers’ Home where more than 80 veterans died in one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks.
“I know this is a hard day, and a bittersweet day, and a heartbreaking day for so many,” Healey said.
Before the ceremony, Healey and some of the officials met privately for more than an hour with families of some of the veterans who died during the outbreak in 2020.
“It was an emotional meeting,” Healey told reporters. She credited the families for coming forward to push for changes including the construction of the new Veterans’ Home.
The legislature passed a series of reforms in how the state’s veterans’ facilities are governed. Earlier this year, Healey appointed former State Rep. and military veteran Jon Santiago, who is also a physician, as the state’s first cabinet-level Secretary of Veterans’ Services.
Speaking at the groundbreaking, he said the tragedy pointed the way to better days ahead.
“We can’t change the past, but we can shape the future and that is what today is about,” he said.
In the new state budget, funding for veterans’ services was increased by $11.5 million.
The price tag to build the new Veterans’ Home – and demolish the existing facility – is $483 million. The federal government will reimburse the state for 65 percent of the cost.
Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal said he stayed in frequent contact with the head of the VA to make sure the money was in place.
The design for the new 350,000 square-foot building includes 234 long-term care beds. Most rooms will be single-occupancy with private baths – which is important for infection control. There will be physical therapy facilities, a dental clinic, hair salon, dining room, social spaces, and gardens.
Dozens of residents of the current home attended the groundbreaking for the new building including 88-year-old Eugene Murphy, a Korean War veteran.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “It will be great for the veterans of the future, you know, when we’re all gone and new guys are coming in. You get a lot of help, a lot of care.”
The former Soldiers’ Home was renamed the Veterans’ Home earlier this year. Officials said it was done to better communicate that service members from all branches are eligible to be admitted.
