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Now I am become Death; the destroyer of worlds
Author: TriSec    Date: 04/14/2020 11:31:31

Good Morning.

Consider for a moment, the words of President Lincoln:


With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.



And now let us descend into hell.

You are no doubt aware that nursing homes have been particularly hard-hit during this crisis. You can check the news in your own areas; you don't need me to tell you about that.

I can't speak for other states, but here in Massachusetts, we have a handful of "Soldier's Homes" that are run by this Commonwealth, and not the V.A. They function as assisted living / nursing home facilities for aging veterans. There is a minimal cost involved, but it's actually a pittance; the state pays for most of it.

One in particular, the Soldier's Home in Holyoke, has become such a nightmare that it's made the national news, and the Feds are investigating.


HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Another veteran has died at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, totaling the number of 38 deaths in the facility.

Holyoke Soldiers’ Home spokesperson Karaonovich Brooke provided 22News with the following update Sunday night:

38 veterans residents deaths (32 positive test, 6 negative)
88 veteran residents have tested positive
99 veteran residents have tested negative
8 veteran residents have pending results
78 employees have tested positive
222 employees have tested negative

Soldiers’ Home has continued to move veterans within the building to semi-private rooms to encourage social distancing. The facility is still in partnership with Holyoke Medical Center where 44 residents have been taken to be monitored and cared for.

The state called in the National Guard, quarantined patients, and increased nursing staff to slow the spread of the virus. Due to the death toll increasing, prosecutors have launched an investigation, separate from state Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.



Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether the state-run Holyoke Soldiers' Home failed to provide the veterans who live there adequate care -- both during the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than a dozen and generally.

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announced Friday morning that his office and the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division have opened an investigation into the Holyoke facility "to examine whether the Soldiers' Home violated the rights of residents by failing to provide them adequate medical care generally, and during the coronavirus pandemic."

At least 25 veterans who lived at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home have died in recent weeks amid an outbreak of the coronavirus. It's unclear exactly how many of the deaths are attributable to COVID-19 -- the Baker administration did not respond to requests for updated numbers on Wednesday or Thursday.

"It would be difficult to overstate our obligation to the health and well-being of elderly and disabled military veterans and, by extension, to their families. The federal Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act specifically protects the rights of those confined in state facilities like the Holyoke Soldiers' Home," Lelling said. "We will aggressively investigate recent events at the Home and, as needed, require the Commonwealth to adopt reforms to ensure patient safety in the future. My condolences to the families of those veterans who died while in the Home's care; we will get to the bottom of what happened here."

Lelling's inquiry is at least the third to look into the Soldiers' Home. Gov. Charlie Baker tapped former first assistant U.S. attorney Mark Pearlstein last week to find out how the situation at the home deteriorated and Attorney General Maura Healey announced this week that her office had opened an investigation of its own.


Unfortunately, perhaps - we can't pin this one on the President. Governor Baker, for all the good work he's been doing during the crisis, somehow let this one slip through his fingers.

The one thing that we excel at as Americans is litigation and lawsuits - this is sure to be just one in a long chorus of legal actions, should we ever get back to "normal".



 
 
 

4 comments (Latest Comment: 04/14/2020 16:51:02 by TriSec)
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