The Public is Invited to Attend the Quarterly Meeting Friends of the Agawam Veterans Cemetery MassLive.com 1 hr ago Pam Mastriano, masslive.com
Agawam - The public is invited to attend the quarterly meeting of The Friends of the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Agawam (The Friends) to be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 460 Granby Road in Chicopee on Wednesday April 14, at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.
Due to COVID-19 this is the first public meeting of The Friends since January 2020.
The meeting will include a PowerPoint presentation reporting on the activities of the past year as well as upcoming events.
East vs. West? ‘Regional equity’ emerges as flashpoint in debate over funding for Holyoke Soldiers’ Home
Updated Mar 16, 2021;
Local lawmakers and veterans advocates are smarting over concerns their counterparts in Eastern Massachusetts are raising over regional equity amid a debate over a new, $400 million Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
During a lengthy hearing Tuesday before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administration and Regulatory Oversight, some argued the price tag was too high to spend on one project in Western Massachusetts while more veterans live in other parts of the state namely Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable counties.
Detractors cited previous academic studies tracking declining numbers of veterans, and recommendations to move away from institutional care that were never acted upon. Senate Committee co-Chairman Marc Pacheco and other lawmakers also wondered about regional equity since the state’s two soldiers’ homes are located in Chelsea and Hol
5 takeaways from legislative hearings on the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home COVID outbreak: How much more do we know now?
Updated Feb 28, 2021;
Posted Feb 28, 2021
State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell chairs an October 2020 legislative hearing on the COVID-19 outbreak at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, held at Holyoke Community College. (Don Treeger / The Republican file)
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Nearly a year after the beginning of the deadly pandemic that has changed the face of life as we knew it, the state Legislature’s Special Oversight Committee has held six hearings since October to examine the outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The state-run, long-term care facility for veterans went from a sought after placement for end-of-life care to a touchstone of the horrors the virus can bring when unchecked.
Advocates make a case for new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke
An ambulance arrives at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke on March 31, 2020. STAFF FILE PHOTO
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HOLYOKE As a spring deadline approaches to apply for federal money, advocates for the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke are calling for a new facility and a greater number of beds than what was outlined in a report the state released in November.
The Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition was formed last spring to advocate for reforms at the facility in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak there that claimed at least 76 lives.
The coalition, which includes leaders of veterans service organizations, former employees of the facility and family members of those who died in the outbreak, is advocating for the replacement of the current facility with a new one that would include 280 private rooms and an adult health care day program.
Advocates make a case for new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke
An ambulance arrives at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Published: 1/26/2021 3:39:47 PM
HOLYOKE – As a spring deadline approaches to apply for federal money, advocates for the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke are calling for a new facility and a greater number of beds than what was outlined in a report the state released in November.
The Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition was formed last spring to advocate for reforms at the facility in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak there that claimed at least 76 lives.
The coalition, which includes leaders of veterans service organizations, former employees of the home, and family members of those who died in the outbreak, is advocating for the replacement of the current facility with a new one that would include 280 private rooms and an adult health care day program.