HOLYOKE — The number of deaths amid a coronavirus outbreak at the Soldiers’ Home has risen to 18 after the state reported on Thursday that an additional three veteran residents died at the facility.
Of the 18 veterans to die since March 25, 12 have now tested positive for COVID-19 with tests pending for another three. Two of those who died during that time period tested negative for the virus and the test status of another veteran who passed away remains unknown.
As the state and National Guard work to contain the coronavirus, state officials warned that “the numbers of infected residents and deaths will continue to increase over the coming days.”
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the residents,” a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “This is a critical health situation for our veterans, and the Commonwealth will continue to make all resources available to the leadership of the Holyoke and Chelsea Soldiers’ Homes to contain the spread of the virus.”
The agency also reported that 23 veteran residents have tested positive for the new coronavirus, as have seven staffers.
The state’s statement adds that the state has tested all of the facility’s residents and is in the process of testing all employees at the Soldiers’ Home. The state also committed to testing all residents and staff at the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home in the eastern part of the state, where at least two veterans have died from the virus.
Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Wednesday that his office had hired former federal prosecutor Mark Pearlstein to conduct an independent investigation into what transpired at the Soldiers’ Home. On Monday, the state set up a clinical command structure at the facility, suspending Superintendent Bennett Walsh and replacing him with Val Liptak, the CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital. The investigation is focusing both on the events inside the facility that led to the deaths of veterans and on management and organizational oversight of the COVID-19 response in the Soldiers’ Home, according to the governor’s office.
Staff members who spoke to the Gazette during the past week detailed a chaotic situation inside the Soldiers’ Home in which coronavirus protocols were ignored, staff and residents were exposed to contagious and potentially contagious residents, and nurses were denied proper protective equipment.
The National Guard has also been on site since Monday, bolstering staffing needs, testing staff and supporting the clinical command structure.
The clinical command structure is testing and screening all employees throughout the day, and is identifying and implementing infection control measures, state health officials said in the statement. Leadership has established clear isolation and quarantine zones, updated staffing protocols and is working to bring more staff on site, according to the statement.
Those and other initiatives underway may not have come in time for many, however.
“Despite the clinical command structure establishing order and medical protocols, COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that has a much more severe impact on older adults and those with underlying illness — the majority of the residents at the home,” state officials said, adding that “the numbers of infected residents and deaths will continue to increase over the coming days.”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.