HOLYOKE — An Air Force veteran who served the United States from 1950 to 1954, Dennis Thresher was at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke when he contracted COVID in 2020, was hospitalized with the illness four times and died from pneumonia in January 2021.

Even with advocacy from families of more than 70 veterans who died at the facility in one of the nation’s deadliest COVID outbreaks, and from Westfield state Sen. John Velis, daughter Cheryl Turgeon said it wasn’t until Monday morning, hours before a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new $482.6 million Veterans’ Home in Holyoke, that she and others got to meet with a sitting governor — Maura Healey — after having their pleas ignored by her predecessor, Charlie Baker.

“She said this is a time for renewal, and this can never happen again,” Turgeon said of the sit-down at Holyoke Community College, where Healey offered a calming presence.

Sitting among families in a pavilion outside the home and holding a portrait of her father, Turgeon said she is gratified that the new building will rise on the same 110 Cherry St. site where the current building opened in 1952.

“This provides some sense of closure that I didn’t have previously,” Turgeon said.

‘Labor of love’

The new Veterans’ Home is slated to open by 2028 with 234 long-term care beds, nursing support and community spaces, to replace what was previously known as the Soldiers’ Home, which was renamed this year. The home’s former superintendent, Bennett Walsh, and medical director, Dr. David Clinton, have been indicted on charges of criminal negligence in relation to the COVID tragedy.

“This renewal of the Veterans’ Home at Holyoke is a labor of love and respect from our administration,” Healey said after shaking hands and applauding both veterans and their families for their inspiration.

Healey called the groundbreaking a “historic milestone” for veterans, service members and their families.

“The commencement of construction for the new Holyoke Veterans’ Home represents our commitment to ensuring that Massachusetts veterans receive the care and support they deserve,” Healey said.

“This day is about you, each and every one of you who has served,” Healey added.

Velis, Turgeon said, was with families every step of the way. As early as June 2020 he stood with the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition demanding a new home, and pushed for a sufficient number of beds. The coalition was later named the Veterans Advocacy Coalition.

As chairman of the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee, Velis said that he heard three demands, including that there be a change in the governance structure of the home. He acknowledged the pain of losing so many veterans, or “so many greats,” as he put it, who can’t be forgotten. The groundbreaking comes as troop morale nationwide is at its lowest point since the Vietnam War, he said.

“Veterans and their families will be depending on the home for decades to come and this new state-of-the-art facility will help ensure they receive the critical medical care and services that they have earned in service to our nation,” Velis said.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal used the term “renewal” and noted that the need for veterans has been refreshed, with one million new veterans having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neal was there in 2020 pledging to help affected families.

“Three years ago, we gathered here after 76 veterans tragically lost their lives,” Neal, D-Springfield, said. “At that time, we promised to deliver change that would prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Today, we are delivering on that promise.”

In March, the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services announced it completed the final steps to ensure compliance and receive grant funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs State Home Construction Grant Program. The Holyoke Veterans’ Home then entered into a memorandum of agreement with the VA, committing $263.5 million in federal funds.

Small house model

The existing 227,915-square-foot building opened on the hilltop of a 16.6-acre property 71 years ago and was expanded with several additions in the 1970s. Over that time, it has seen several interior upgrades and renovations. The current facility has many three- and four-bed rooms and no private baths. There also is a small outpatient clinic within the building but that is not part of the long-term care facility.

Commodore Builders and Walsh Brothers, both of Boston, have been leading the planning and construction of the new building, featuring a 350,000-square-foot design based on the VA’s small house model. It will include gardens, physical therapy facilities, a dental suite, hair salon, and dining and social spaces, according to a grant application the state submitted to the VA in April 2021.

Each resident floor of the proposed eight-story building is designed with two to three homes per floor, typically with 12 beds per home, accommodating a maximum of 36 veterans per floor. Most rooms are single occupancy with private baths, but one room in each home is larger than a standard room so that it can function as a double, a couple’s room, or a bariatric room. Each home also has a private den to provide residents and families with a quiet space.

The existing building will remain operational while the new facility rises in front of it. Once residents are relocated to the new facility, the existing building will be demolished.

The project coincides with the establishment of the new Executive Office of Veterans’ Services by the Healey-Driscoll administration in March.

Veterans’ Services Secretary Jon Santiago said the new home is about meeting the needs of those who have selflessly served the nation, including those who have died. “All of our investments move forward in their memory,” Santiago said

“For the veterans here, we are family,” said Brig. Gen. Sean T. Collins, who chairs the Veterans’ Home trustees.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said he sees the project as about renewing a commitment to the health, safety and dignity of veterans, noting that the original home was built to provide care for those who served their country.

Veterans’ Home Superintendent Michael Lazo read from the speech Commandant Paul G. Martel gave during the April 1952 ribbon-cutting, describing the mission as “honor, dignity and respect” for veterans.

A new era

A resident at the home for a few years, Al Dray, a Korean War veteran whose service took him to Alaska and the Arctic Circle, said he has no complaints about the care and that the new home will be even better.

“This place is amazing,” Dray said. “I’m assuming it will be something even better.”

Susan Kenney lost her father, Charles Lowell, in April 2020 after he contracted COVID at the former Soldiers’ Home. An Air Force veteran, Lowell was an air launch missile guide technician for the 17th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron until 1965 before working at IBM.

Accompanied by her mother, Alice, Kenney said that the facility can usher in a new era and a “bigger and better home” where veterans will receive the necessary care.

“I hope no one ever again has to endure this kind of suffering,” Kenney said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>