Groundbreaking ceremony at new Veterans Home in Holyoke

A new chapter beginning at the Holyoke Veterans Home with a groundbreaking ceremony held today to celebrate a monumental reconstruction project. 22 News was there as plans for the new and improved building were laid out. The long-awaited upgrade of the Soldiers Home in Holyoke kicking off with a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday. In attendance, Governor Healey, Congressman Richard Neal and other state and local leaders all reiterating the need for a new and improved Veterans Home. The new state-of-the-art 250,000-square-foot facility will include 234 long-term care beds, upgraded amenities and top-notch medical care. This groundbreaking, a bittersweet moment for the family members who lost loved ones here during the COVID pandemic. Back in 2020, over 75 veterans died from COVID-19 while residents at the home. Never again. The push for this project stemming largely from that devastation. I want to know three years from now, three years from now, that that continued advocacy is still there. Residents and family members celebrating a new era of care to come. Fantastic. I lived here eight years, five years in the dormitory and about three years over here in the main building, which I like. It's home sweet home. That's how Cheryl Turgeon's father, Dennis Thresher, felt about living with his comrades. He was among the Soldiers Home COVID-19 victims. My dad flew the bombers in the Korean War, braving enemy combat fire and dropping supplies to the troops. I feel a sense of peace and I feel some closure today that we're putting this behind here. I think that going forward, we will have new momentum and growth for the veterans to have what they deserve. Working for you, Kaylee Collins, 22 News.