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The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts opened an investigation into conditions at a home for elderly and infirm veterans where there have been 32 deaths amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Five new deaths were reported Thursday at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, raising the death toll to 32. Twenty-eight of those deaths were due to COVID-19.
“We will aggressively investigate recent events at the Home and, as needed, require the Commonwealth to adopt reforms to ensure patient safety in the future,” Boston U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Friday while announcing the probe.
The Soldiers' Home in Holyoke in Massachusetts.
(Google Maps)
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK AT MASSACHUSETTS VETERANS' HOME KILLS AT LEAST 6, ADDITIONAL TESTS PENDING
“My condolences to the families of those veterans who died while in the Home’s care; we will get to the bottom of what happened here,” he said.
The investigation could lead to civil rights-related charges against the facility for failing to provide veteran residents with adequate medical care generally, and during the coronavirus pandemic, Lelling's office said.
WWLP-TV reported Thursday that 69 veterans and 68 staffers tested positive for the coronavirus. Another 126 veterans and 210 staffers tested negative.
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The coronavirus outbreak is one of the largest at a Massachusetts facility.
Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh was placed on administrative leave March 30.
He issued a statement Thursday, saying he kept state officials updated on the home’s situation as it grew more desperate daily, Masslive.com reported.
But local and state officials have said they were kept in the dark about the extent of the outbreak, according to the news outlet.
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Walsh said that in addition to keeping everyone informed, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, he requested help from the National Guard but was denied, the news outlet reported.
