Holyoke Soldiers' Home Gets Overhaul In Wake Of Deaths

The Massachusetts veterans home that’s been the site of one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the nation will undergo a management overhaul, and going forward will operate with fewer residents and new safety protocols, according to state officials.

About $2 million in improvements are also being made to the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke to make it safer, Daniel Tsai, deputy secretary of the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday at a meeting of the home’s trustees.

“We have been in quite a bit of a gauntlet, but we are not in the clear,” Tsai told Masslive.com.

As of Tuesday, 74 residents of the facility for elderly and ill veterans who have recently died tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to state officials.

Another 87 residents have tested positive. The home has more than 200 beds although only about half are currently filled. Dozens of employees have also tested positive.

There are several state and federal investigations into the deaths underway.