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Massachusetts state veterans' care home where 76 residents died from COVID-19 packed dementia patients into crowded units and made 'baffling' errors that allowed the virus to run rampant, scathing report finds
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] - The superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers´ Home was not qualified to run a long-term care facility and made 'substantial errors and failures', a report said
- Among them was a decision prompted by staff shortages to combine two locked dementia units, both of which already housed some residents with the virus
- When a social worker raised concerns about the move, the chief nursing officer said 'it didn't matter because [the veterans] were all exposed anyway'
- One staffer who helped move the dementia patients told investigators she felt like she was 'walking [the veterans] to their death'
- A nurse said the packed dementia unit looked 'like a battlefield tent where the cots are all next to each other'
- As the virus took hold, leadership shifted from trying to prevent its spread, 'to preparing for the deaths of scores of residents,' the report said
- Since March 1, 76 veterans who contracted COVID-19 at the home have died
- Another 84 veterans and more than 80 staff have also tested positive
- The report said officials with the Department of Veterans Services were aware of Walsh's 'shortcomings,' but failed to do enough about it
Posted by: Skidmark 2020-06-26 |
