For more than a year, WAMC has been covering the devastating COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. Eventually, 76 residents — including many men who fought in World War II — died of the virus. As subsequent investigations found, that was likely exacerbated by a series of poor decisions and understaffing.
A new investigation by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team finds the problems went much deeper: from how the politically-connected superintendent got his job running the facility to how second-term Republican Governor Charlie Baker shielded himself from blame. One of the reporters on the story was Rebecca Ostriker.