By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Boston, MA) Massachusetts legislature passed a bill to improve oversight and management of veterans’ homes. The bill entitled An Act relative to the governance, structure and care of veterans at the Commonwealth’s veterans’ homes, will ensure the homes are licensed federally as healthcare facilities with increased management at the state level, along with independent oversight.
This bill comes out of the investigation by the Special Joint Oversight Committee that was formed after the COVID-19 related deaths of 78 veterans at the Holyoke Veterans’ Home in 2020.
“By taking significant steps to change how our veterans’ homes are governed and managed, and by establishing protocols that are designed to identify and correct any examples of mismanagement or inadequate care as quickly as possible, this legislation will help to ensure that a tragedy similar to what occurred at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home will never happen again in Massachusetts,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano.
Representative Joseph F. Wagner said, “This legislation not only addresses a structurally deficient authority at the homes, but instills a greater level of care for veterans statewide, consistent with our prior action in authorizing $400 million for a new and an additional $200 million for other veterans’ housing projects. This report puts emphasis on our commitment to provide veterans the care they deserve, with dignity and honor.”