Soldiers' Home in Holyoke

Soldiers' Home in Holyoke
The Soldiers' Home campus atop Cherry Hill, as seen from I-91
Geography
Location110 Cherry Street, Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates42°11′55″N 72°38′26″W / 42.1987185°N 72.6404414°W / 42.1987185; -72.6404414
Organization
Care systemPublic
FundingState
TypeVeterans' center
NetworkMassachusetts Department of Veterans' Services
Services
Beds277
History
OpenedApril 27, 1952 (dedicated)
Links
Websitewww.mass.gov/orgs/soldiers-home-in-holyoke
ListsHospitals in Massachusetts

The Soldiers' Home in Holyoke is a full-service veterans center and hospital located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which maintains 247 beds in its main nursing facility, and a separate domiciliary care building with 30 full-time residents. The facility provides long-term care and outpatient medical services, as well as dental and social services, and programming and events for veterans. Operated by the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services, it is inspected annually by both the state and the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs.

In April 2020, 84 veteran residents—nearly 30 percent of the home's residents—died of COVID-19 in the deadliest outbreak at a long-term care facility in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. A subsequent independent report found that poor infection control practices and chaotic decisionmaking promoted the spread of the virus within the home. In response to the outbreak the facility is implementing a $2 million overhaul to redesign its floors, reducing the number of beds to 160 in compliance with distancing guidelines.