HOLYOKE — The superintendent and former medical director of the Soldiers’ Home have been indicted on criminal charges in connection with a COVID-19 outbreak that swept through the facility earlier this year and contributed to the deaths of 76 veterans.
Attorney General Maura Healey announced Friday morning that a grand jury had returned indictments against suspended superintendent Bennett Walsh, 50, of Springfield, and former medical director David Clinton, 71, of South Hadley. Each faces 10 criminal neglect charges, and they are expected to be arraigned in Hampden Superior Court at a later date.
The indictments come after a COVID-19 outbreak in the Soldiers’ Home earlier this year left at least 76 veteran residents dead and many more residents and employees sick.
“We began this investigation on behalf of the families who lost loved ones under tragic circumstances and to honor these men who bravely served our country,” Healey said Friday. “We allege that the actions of these defendants during the COVID-19 outbreak at the facility put veterans at higher risk of infection and death, and warrant criminal charges.”
In particular, Healey cited the March 27 decision to combine two dementia units — a choice that a state-commissioned independent investigation released in June described as a “catastrophe,” resulting in “the opposite of infection control.”
“Walsh and Clinton were responsible for the decision to combine 42 veterans, some COVID-positive and others not even showing any symptoms of COVID, into a single unit that usually accommodates 25 beds,” Healey said at a virtual press conference.
Walsh and Clinton each face five counts of two separate charges: 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.
Healey said Friday that the bodily harm charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in state prison, and the other charge carries a sentence of up to three years in prison.
“That’s for each count, and again this is a 20-count indictment,” Healey said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.