LUDLOW — The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, along with other community backers, opened an 80-plus bed recovery center Tuesday that is free of charge for first responders diagnosed with COVID-19.
Located at the department’s Pre-Release Center on Alabama Street in Ludlow, which usually holds inmates at the tail end of their sentences, the First Responder Recovery Home gives doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, EMTs, corrections professionals, and military members a place to recover from the novel coronavirus that is away from vulnerable family members.
“We’ve already received calls from people in the community who have been diagnosed but have nowhere to go without jeopardizing the health of their family. That’s the need we are trying to fill,” Sheriff Nick Cocchi said in a statement.
With 84 single-occupancy rooms, those who stay at the center will be provided with hotel bedding and restaurant-quality food, according to a statement. The center’s first guest was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday afternoon, according to Steve O’Neil, senior public information officer with the sheriff’s department.
Around 80 inmates who had previously been living in the Pre-Release Center have since been moved to the jail’s orientation unit on the Ludlow campus, O’Neil said. The Pre-Release Center will house frontline workers recovering from COVID-19 for as long as it’s needed during the pandemic, the sheriff’s department said.
Any frontline workers coming to stay at the recovery center must be healthy enough to care for themselves, the statement said, but the department’s medical staff will be doing rounds and the sheriff’s department will help with transportation if a person needs additional medical care.
Community partners on the project include Charlie D’Amour and Guy McFarlane of Big Y Foods; Bob Bolduc and Pride Stores; Cesar Ruiz Jr. and Golden Years Home Care; and Anthony Cignoli of A.L. Cignoli Company, according to the statement. As of Monday, supporters from within the community have donated $25,000 to the initiative, the sheriff’s department said.
“This is not just a Hampden County Sheriff’s Department effort. This is thanks to the good people in our community who care, and step up when things are tough,” Cocchi said in the statement. “As I’ve said before, these are stressful and uncertain times, and the only way we’re going to get through this is by working together. I’m just thankful we have so many strong community partners that put people over profits and go above and beyond when we pick up the phone.”
Any doctor, nurse, police, firefighter, EMT, correctional professional or military member can call 413-858-0801 or 413-858-0819 to request a room. Those who wish to contribute to the First Responder Recovery Home can send tax-deductible donations to: Criminal Justice Organization, 627 Randall Road, Ludlow, MA 01056. Check memo: “First Responder Recovery Home.”
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.