HOLYOKE — Advocates for the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home are urging lawmakers to consider a shift in state governance to prevent future public health crises like last year’s deadly COVID-19 outbreak.
Leaders of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition have been recently meeting with Western Massachusetts legislators and their staff to promote moving the Holyoke home, as well as its counterpart in Chelsea, from the Department of Veterans’ Services to the Department of Public Health.
The state-run home for elderly veterans was gripped by the coronavirus in the spring of 2020. At least 78 residents died of the virus while dozens more veterans and staff were sickened, according to the coalition. The outbreak prompted an effort to replace the World War II-era building, a sweep of upper management and other proposed reforms.