Two Former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Administrators Indicted by Grand Jury

BOSTON — Two former administrators of the Holyoke Soldier’s Home, where nearly 80 people died after being exposed to coronavirus, have been charged over their handling of the outbreak, state Attorney General Maura Healey said Friday, according to the Boston Globe.

In what is believed to be the first criminal case in the country brought against nursing-home officials for actions during the pandemic, former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton were indicted by a grand jury on charges stemming from their decision in March to combine two dementia units, packing residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms, Healey said.

The veterans “risked their lives from the beaches of Normandy, to some the jungles of Vietnam, and to know that they died under the most horrific circumstances is truly shocking,” Healey told reporters.

In a statement, family members noted that “we now want our state to move forward and do the right thing to ensure this never happens again to any other veteran,” the Globe reported.