Workers at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home were forced to experience one of the most traumatic COVID-19 outbreaks in the U.S., when at least 76 veterans there were sickened and died. The victims were residents who workers had supported, cared for, admired and treated like family.
To help employees recover emotionally from the disaster, a coalition of unions has reached an agreement with the state that will provide mental health services through June 30 of next year, the end of the state’s 2022 fiscal year. For the first time, the state has now agreed to pay for the Trauma Informed Care programs offered through On-Site Academy to all Holyoke staff in need.
“We’re very pleased to have reached an agreement with representatives of the commonwealth,” said Tom McKeever, SEIU Local 888’s president. “The coalition’s goal has been to provide the compassionate care services that the Holyoke Home staff, who are essential workers, deserve.”
Several Holyoke Home workers had previously attended the On-Site Academy’s five-day inpatient program. However, a federal grant that funded those health care services ran out some time ago.
Prior to this agreement, the coalition — which includes SEIU Local 888, SEIU Local 509 and the Massachusetts Nurses Association — had led a campaign on behalf of the Holyoke Home’s workers. This included writing to Gov. Charlie Baker, which resulted in a meeting with Marylou Sudders, the state’s secretary of health and human services, and Cheryl Lussier Poppe, the state’s secretary of veterans’ services.
An agreement was then hammered out that covers union members and management employees who were on the Holyoke Home staff on or after March 1, 2020. This includes part-time and full-time workers.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has agreed to contract with and compensate On-Site Academy for services that include its five-day inpatient program in Westminster, counseling on an outpatient basis through the organization’s Westfield office, as well as other clinical services — such as debriefings, consultations two times a month at the Holyoke Home and access to a trained clinician and support services on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week basis.
The meeting with Sudders and Poppe included union leaders and staff Sherry Ferrier, Andrea Fox, Carrie Forant, Terri Gustafson, Kwesi Ablordeppey, Cory Bombredi, and McKeever. The union coalition thanks Secretary Sudders and Secretary Poppe, for providing a great deal of input and support to make this program a reality.
The coalition estimates there is a potential pool of 400 people, with limited slots available at On-Site Academy. Therefore, the need may extend beyond the state’s fiscal year.
As a result, the unions have advocated that the commonwealth pay for any eligible staff person who would like to attend beyond fiscal year 2022. In line with that, the commonwealth has invited the unions to return to meet over that issue.
The unions advocated that the commonwealth pay for out-of-pocket expenses that include travel costs and food charges while a worker is in a covered program. Also, that workers receive their regular pay while attending services offered by On-Site Academy, including the five-day program.
The state has indicated that these issues could be negotiated locally.