By STEPHANIE BARRY | masslive.com | Published: December 16, 2020 HOLYOKE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke trustees on Wednesday beat back an effort by state officials to name a new acting superintendent for the facility, instead voting unanimously to appoint their own pick. National Guard Col. Michael Lazo, the new chief operating officer for the beleaguered state-run home for veterans, will replace outgoing interim administrator Val Liptak as she heads back to her post as CEO of Western Massachusetts Hospital on Dec. 20. All seven board members voted to appoint Lazo during a special meeting. Lazo was an employee of Rhode Island Hospital assigned to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in response to COVID-19, according to his online profile.
National Guard colonel is named acting superintendent of Holyoke Soldiers Home stripes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stripes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
State picks leaders for Veterans’ Services, Holyoke and Chelsea Soldiers’ Homes
Updated Dec 10, 2020;
HOLYOKE State officials announced three new leaders in veterans’ health care on Thursday, signaling what appears to be a new dawn after COVID-19 ravaged the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke over the spring.
While the superintendent’s position has not been filled in Holyoke, the new second-in-command at the site will be retired U.S. Army infantry officer Glen Hevy, now the senior operations official for patient care services at the VA Bedford Healthcare System, a 400-bed facility.
Also at the Bedford VA, Hevy served as chief of the sensory and physical rehabilitation service, and an investigator for equal opportunity employer policies in the Office of Resolution Management.