Healey tours Veterans Home in Holyoke to highlight progress

Gov. Maura Healey and other elected officials talk about the current level of success that Veterans Home of Holyoke is experiencing after touring the facility on May 27.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet

HOLYOKE — The Veterans Home in Holyoke gave Gov. Maura Healey a tour of the facility six years removed from a “travesty” during the coronavirus pandemic and just months away from the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility.

Healey, Veterans Services Secretary Eric Goralnick, Mayor Joshua Garcia, state Sen. John Velis, and state Rep. Pat Duffy visited the home on May 27 to highlight major improvements in veteran care, staffing, safety and resident satisfaction that now place the facility among the strongest long-term skilled nursing facilities in the nation, according to delegates.

“We can say that this home, this home in Holyoke, is really leading the way for the rest of the country,” Healey stated.

The elected officials toured the facility alongside Executive Director Michael Lazo and Director of Nursing Kelly Jones, and met with veterans, staff and families. Throughout the tour, they discussed how investments in staffing, technology, safety and resident-centered care are improving daily life for residents. The visit comes as Healey continues to lead a transformation of veterans services across Massachusetts following years of crisis and mismanagement at the state’s veterans homes.

In spring 2020, at least 76 military veterans who lived at the Veterans’ Home at Holyoke died of COVID-19. These deaths prompted multiple investigations, terminations and resignations, regulatory reforms and lawsuits.

“What happened here in 2020 during COVID was an absolute travesty, it was a tragedy, and there was a lot of loss,” Healey stated. “I was your attorney general at the time, I was here for it, and I promised that I would do whatever I could to make that better.”

Healey created the Executive Office of Veterans Services in March 2023 to restore trust and deliver stronger care for veterans across Massachusetts.

“One of the missions we had early on was to make sure that we were doing everything that we could to turn around our veterans homes,” Healey said. “To give the staff, the teams, and the residents of our homes, in Chelsea and in Holyoke, the facility that they deserved.”

She claimed that Holyoke is one of the top-rated veterans homes in the entire country and has received a perfect rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In addition to the perfect score from the Department of Veteran Services, the Veterans Home has achieved full state and federal licensure and certification from the Department of Public Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It has also posted some of the strongest clinical and quality-of-life outcomes in the country.

Healey said that the nursing-to-patient ratio is double the national average, hospitalization and emergency room visits are down nearly 50% below the national average, safety benchmarks are above the national average, and the home currently has a 100% satisfaction score from the residents.

The performance measures were drawn from internal clinical and operational data tracked by the home, veteran satisfaction surveys conducted through Pinnacle Quality Insights, and external federal reviews and safety benchmarks from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

In addition to the operational and clinical progress made at the Veterans Home over the last three years, construction continues on the new Veterans Home at Holyoke as part of a $482 million investment in veterans care infrastructure in Massachusetts.

The new facility will welcome its first residents this fall, according to Healey, with full project completion expected by summer 2028. The new Veterans Home will feature 234 long-term care beds, a specialized memory care unit, and a 40-person adult day health program designed to support both residents and veterans living throughout the surrounding community.

Healey said, “We owe [veterans] the very best care; we owe their families the assurance that they will be cared for like a family, and that’s why we’ve set out to build these brand new facilities.”

Healey added that the current home in Holyoke has been transformed thanks to the staff and team.

“Touring through this facility, and I’ve been here a few times, today, I just felt this overwhelming joy. The residents are so happy, so peaceful. You can tell that they love being here, they love one another, they love the staff, and you can see and really feel a sense of community.”

Although Goralnick applauded the executive team, staff and residents, he stated that the numbers are only part of the story.

There are currently 119 veterans who reside at the Veterans Home in Holyoke. At any given time, 40 staff members come for three shifts throughout the day. Goralnick also highlighted the team of nurse practitioners, certified nursing assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, dietary professionals, maintenance, social workers, administrators and mental health professionals.

“What makes this place special are the people,” Goralnick said. “I’ve worked at some of the finest institutions in this country, and I can say wholeheartedly, the staff here is beyond reproach, the team here is of the highest caliber. They deliver that care with love and compassion every single day.”

Veterans Home Executive Director Michael Lazo said all the positive reviews and statistics are because of the 317 staffers who value their jobs.
Garcia also commended the current staff and local and state government for helping the Veterans Home reach its current success.

“For a very long time, we always hear from people, veterans, their families, people in our communities, everywhere, talk about what is it that government is doing for them?” Garcia stated. “I think that’s a wonderful and perfectly asked question because sometimes it does feel like government isn’t doing enough, but that’s not the case here in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, particularly here at the Soldiers’ Home in the city of Holyoke.”