. (Tribune News Service) Cheryl Turgeon just wants the families of the Holyoke Soldiers Home veterans to have their voices heard. Turgeon whose father, Dennis Thresher, a Korean War veteran, was a resident at the home has spent months calling for change and transparency at the facility that s seen nearly 80 residents die from COVID-19. Her father, who experienced COVID-like symptoms when the virus first swept through the facility last spring, died Saturday. He was 90. These veterans spirits will live on in the families, Turgeon told the Herald, adding that her father s passing has steeled her resolved to make it my mission to bring better care and oversight to the ones who deserve it the most.
HOLYOKE, Mass. (Tribune News Service) All Francis “Skip” Hennessy wanted for Christmas was a ride home. The 82-year-old U.S. Army veteran settled in at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke in late 2019. His mobility deteriorated after a fall. Mild dementia had taken hold. His daughter was comforted when her father won a bed at his twilight home of choice after 10 months on a waiting list. Initially, his move to the state-run facility was a bit rough. Staff were caring, albeit a little scant. The rooms were slightly cramped and threadbare. But by Christmas 2019 Hennessy donned a Santa hat and joined in the home’s holiday festivities, according to his daughter, Erin Schadel. Guilt over placing her father in a nursing home was replaced by relief.