HOLYOKE, MASS. (WHDH) - The head of a veteran’s home in Holyoke is on leave after 11 veterans who lived there died.
Superintendent Bennett Walsh has been placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately, according to Massachusetts Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Dan Tsai.
Five of those veterans living at the Holyoke Soldier’s Home tested positive for coronavirus.
Residents are now being isolated and employees have been advised to quarantine, according to the home.
Val Liptak, RN, currently the CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital, will assume responsibility for the administration of the Soldiers’ Home for the time being.
Gov. Charles Baker took to Twitter to say he is “heartbroken” by the losses.
“As someone who has visited the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home on many occasions to catch up with staff and residents, I am heartbroken by today’s news,” he wrote. “The loss of these residents to COVID-19 is a shuddering loss for us all.”
As someone who has visited the Holyoke Soldiers' Home on many occasions to catch up with staff and residents, I am heartbroken by today’s news. The loss of these residents to COVID-19 is a shuddering loss for us all.
— Charlie Baker (@MAGovArchive) March 31, 2020
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)