An investigation released Wednesday has revealed that “substantial errors and failures” from leadership was a factor in the deaths of 76 residents living at the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke from COVID-19 this spring.
The report, released by former federal prosecutor Mark W. Pearlstein under the request of Gov. Charlie Baker, says that the home’s superintendent, Bennet Walsh, made “utterly baffling” decisions that led to the spread of the virus and “were inconsistent with the home’s mission to treat its veterans with honor and dignity.”
Baker said Wednesday that he is looking to fire Walsh, who has been on administrative leave since the end of March. Secretary of Veterans’ Services Francisco Urena resigned Tuesday before the release of the report.
Massachusetts State Representative Aaron Vega, who represents Holyoke, and Kwesi Ablordeppey, an aide who has worked at the home for 20 years, joined Jim Braude on WGBH New’s Greater Boston Wednesday night to discuss the report's findings. Ablordeppey criticized the medical specialist at the facility who was in charge of controlling the spread of the virus, and said he was horrified by the number of deaths he saw.
“I saw some of the veterans die in front of me," he said. "I had to put two veterans in a body bag and put them in a refrigerator.
"It’s something we could have prevented," he added. "I’m sorry, it’s not right.”
Vega was not completely satisfied with the report and is looking to the ongoing investigations from the Inspector General, Attorney General, and the U.S. Attorney to fill in some of the gaps.
“There are some missing elements, especially around the hiring of Bennet Walsh,” he said.
Ablordeppey believes that it is going to take some time before things start to feel normal again at the home.
“We the staff, we represent the family in the home, so to see all these veterans, going down, dying, it is something that is going to take a while for us to recover from this," he said.
