GOP governor: Leader of veterans nursing home with 76 COVID-19 deaths won't have to be licensed

On Thursday, according to The Daily Beast, Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA) announced that the leader of a state nursing home where 76 residents have died of COVID-19 will not need to be licensed as a nursing home administrator.

"The statement comes just a day after a lengthy investigative report on the home’s failure to contain one of the worst nursing home coronavirus outbreaks in the country stated that the superintendent’s ineptitude contributed significantly to the outbreak’s severity," reported Madeline Charbonneau. "The report said that Bennett Walsh was unfit to be superintendent, and alleged that the Baker administration knew of his faults."

The report found "substantial errors" and "baffling decisions" in the management of Soldier's Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts, including a decision in March to move every veteran from one of the locked dementia units to the other, even though some had already tested positive.

According to the Daily Beast, "Baker said Thursday that Walsh will not continue as the home’s superintendent, and that several other recommendations in the report will be met, including increased inspections and an expanded oversight board."