HOLYOKE — On March 10, Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh assured the home’s board of trustees that the facility had recently contained a flu outbreak and was taking similar precautions with the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe.
Just 20 days later, news of an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility entered into the public spotlight, with 11 veteran residents already reported dead. The state suspended Walsh and set up an incident command structure in an effort to contain the contagion, but much of the damage was already done.
State officials announced Tuesday that 68 veterans have now died after testing positive for the coronavirus — about a third of the facility’s residents. In total, more than 70% of residents have been infected. It is one of the deadliest single outbreaks in the United States so far, and new deaths are announced almost daily.
On Monday, the Soldiers’ Home trustees released minutes from their March 10 meeting, providing insight into some of the preparations the facility’s leadership made ahead of the outbreak.
The minutes — together with interviews with workers and internal emails obtained by the Gazette — show a failure to address staffing shortages despite assurances that backup plans were in place. The minutes and emails also show Soldiers’ Home leadership taking preliminary precautions, such as screening visitors before entering the building, 11 days before Walsh told facility staff that the first veteran had tested positive for the virus.
Local and state officials said they didn’t know about the outbreak when it began to unfold, but Walsh has denied those claims. He has said he provided state officials with daily updates and that on March 27 the state denied his request to have National Guard medical personnel brought in to help with staffing.
Federal prosecutors, the state attorney general, state inspector general and a private lawyer hired by Baker are all investigating the circumstances leading to the outbreak. State lawmakers have also said they plan to launch their own probe.
In the board of trustees minutes from March 10, Walsh indicated that no known cases of COVID-19 had yet emerged in the Soldiers’ Home. When Kevin Jourdain, the board chairman, asked how the facility could be proactive given rapidly changing criteria, Director of Communications Deb Foley said on March 11 visitors would be channeled to a single point of entry, where they would be screened.
“They are being asked to not visit if they are feeling sick,” the minutes read. “Children under 12 are not allowed to visit.”
According to the meeting minutes, Walsh also said that the Soldiers’ Home would be stopping entertainment, volunteers and visitors from entering the facility and that the Department of Veterans Services and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services had approved the facility’s response. On March 14, visitors were completely banned from entering the facility, according to interviews with employees and families of residents.
One trustee, Isaac Mass, asked during the March 10 meeting if a plan was in place for staffing shortages related to the coronavirus, according to the meeting minutes.
“Bennett noted that we work with four outside staffing agencies for staffing needs if the need arises above current staff,” the minutes state. The documents also note that staff were “requested to stay home if not feeling well, and are being asked to report any travel plans.”
However, employees and former Soldiers’ Home leadership have long raised complaints about short staffing in the building. Several CNAs and officials from the union that represents them, SEIU 888, have reported that when staffing ranks began to thin due to the virus, administrators accused employees of using the virus as an excuse to stay home from work and threatened them with discipline.
In a March 17 email obtained by the Gazette, Walsh messaged staff to say that all of their functions were deemed necessary to operate the facility.
“Therefore, we are expecting all Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke employees to report to work for their regularly scheduled shift,” Walsh wrote.
In a March 20 email, the facility’s chief nursing officer acknowledged that it had been a “heck of a week” at the facility. The email went on to say that Soldiers’ Home HR had lessened their restrictions for hiring and were expediting the on-boarding process “to get the hires in here ASAP.”
“I thank everyone for understanding this is a national emergency and working out of our comfort zone and providing extra hands and minds,” the email states.
Eventually, so many employees had called out of work with COVID-19 symptoms that Soldiers’ Home higher-ups decided to combine the facility’s two dementia units, packing residents into even closer quarters, several CNAs told the Gazette in earlier interviews. The March 20 email mentions the consolidation of units.
“2S has been temporarily closed to prepare for the isolation needs,” the email says. “2S will hopefully be the only unit we will need to shut down — but we are working behind the scenes to prepare for an increase in illness and/or isolation and will be ready to further plan for bed management with the potential to close another unit.”
In the record from the March 10 trustees meeting, Walsh said that Soldiers’ Home staff had worked with the city of Holyoke to discuss COVID-19 precautions.
“Cesar Lopez inquired on the availability of testing kits,” the meeting minutes read. “Dr. (David) Clinton reviewed our process, as we have a contract with Holyoke Medical Center, and all lab testing would be sent there via courier. He stated that there is strict criteria in place around testing for COVID-19.”
Emails show that on March 22, Walsh wrote to staff to inform them that a veteran resident had tested positive for COVID-19. In a March 26 email, he followed up to say that the facility was following state and federal guidelines regarding health care personnel and that anyone exposed to a COVID-19 positive veteran or co-worker was expected to report to work as usual and wear a mask while in the facility.
“If you are ill with cough, fever, or shortness of breath, you are required to go immediately to the Holyoke Medical Center isolation Emergency Room for immediate testing,” Walsh wrote. “If you are swabbed for COVID-19 you must stay home until test results are received.”
Several CNAs have told the Gazette that it wasn’t until a resident tested positive that they were allowed to wear the N95 masks used in most hospital settings when interacting with potentially contagious patients. They said managers kept personal protective equipment under close watch.
In his March 17 email, Walsh instructed staff to “be mindful of supplies,” saying that administrators were “keeping a watchful eye on all supplies during this time.”
It wasn’t until March 28 that staff were told they should wear an N95. In an email, employees were told they should wear an N95 mask for one week — a protocol being followed by local hospitals — even if caring for a patient who had tested positive or was waiting for a test result.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.