The leadership of the Holyoke Soldiers Home made “serious errors” in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an investigators report released today. The investigation conducted by former federal prosecutor Mark Pearlstein found the worst decision came on March 27th when staffers combined two locked dementia units where some veterans had COVID-19 and others did not.
The outbreak claimed the lives of 76 veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
The scathing report faulted the management of the Soldiers’ Home under Bennett Walsh, the superintendent who has been suspended. It also criticized a lack of oversight by Department of Veterans Services Secretary Francisco Urena. Urena abruptly resigned Tuesday night.
