The Massachusetts attorney general is appealing a state court’s decision to dismiss the charges against two former nursing home leaders related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attorney General Maura Healy announced Tuesday that her office had filed a notice of appeal in Hampden County Superior Court involving the former superintendent and former medical director of Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, a state-run nursing facility for veterans.
Bennett Walsh and David Clinton faced five counts apiece in the wake of 76 coronavirus deaths until Hampden Superior Court Judge Edward McDonough granted their respective motions to dismiss on Nov. 22.
Specifically, in September 2020 Walsh and Clinton were indicted by a statewide grand jury on the charges of caretaker who wantonly or recklessly commits or permits bodily injury to an elder or disabled person and caretaker who wantonly or recklessly commits or permits abuse, neglect, or mistreatment to an elder or disabled person.
The investigation began in early April 2020 when the attorney general’s office learned that the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke decided to consolidate two dementia units into one, which put symptomatic residents, confirmed COVID-19 positive residents and asymptomatic residents in the same unit, according to a press release.
The attorney general’s office contended the decision, which Walsh and Clinton authorized, was “reckless” and could have increased the likelihood that asymptomatic residents could have contracted COVID-19.
“The tragic loss of life at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home broke the promise that our Commonwealth would honor these men who bravely served our country,” Healey said in a statement. “We are filing this notice of appeal today to pursue accountability on behalf of their loved ones and communities.”
The Holyoke Soldiers’ Home features 247 long-term nursing beds, along with hospice care and therapy services.
Companies featured in this article:
