Two leaders of a veterans home where 76 patients died due to COVID-19 were indicted on criminal neglect charges in September, according to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. She believes the charges are the first criminal ones in the country filed against nursing home officials in connection with the pandemic.
A grand jury indicted former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh, 50, and former Medical Director David Clinton, M.D., 71, based on their decision to merge two dementia care units, combining COVID-19-positive residents with others. Staffing shortages played a role, Healey said.
The accused are charged with causing or permitting serious bodily injury or neglect of an elder, and could face prison time if convicted. An independent government report released earlier this year claimed that Walsh was not qualified to operate a long-term care facility and alleged that “substantial errors and failures” led to the deaths.
The consolidation of the two dementia units pushed more than 40 veterans into a space designed for only 25 under normal circumstances, report authors noted. More than 160 residents and staff members were found to be coronavirus-positive after the original outbreak, officials said.
Walsh, who was placed on administrative leave March 30, had “reached out for help when the crisis erupted,” including seeking National Guard assistance, his attorney told the Associated Press in June. The attorney said that many troubles stemmed from not receiving that help.
Operators of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home were hit with a proposed class-action lawsuit in mid-July, seeking more than $175 million in damages.
From the November 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
