Local
Hopkinton seeks answers after heat concerns, 30 hospital transports at Golden Pond
Thirty residents of Golden Pond Assisted Living Facility have been taken to hospitals in recent weeks, Hopkinton’s health director says; four reported heat-related problems. The town is investigating conditions after an 86-year-old resident was found dead in a room that police said was nearly 100 degrees.
Hopkinton officials are demanding answers from Golden Pond Assisted Living Facility after 30 residents were transported to hospitals in recent weeks and an 86-year-old resident was found dead in her apartment in late September.
Health Director Shaun McAuliffe said he did not know why all 30 residents were taken to hospitals, but four had complained of heat-related issues. The transports occurred as local and state authorities examine the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.
Police found the resident dead in her unit on Sept. 30. A police report said the apartment was extremely hot, with its thermostat showing 99 degrees Fahrenheit. A facility manager told police the heat had been turned on the previous day.
Town Health, Building and Fire Department staff found the building above the state’s 78-degree legal threshold during an inspection on Oct. 1, according to a timeline McAuliffe provided. The woman’s room measured 81 degrees, while heating returns ranged from 85 to 104 degrees. The facility’s HVAC contractor shut off the heating system that day, but the town continued to receive complaints about temperature problems. The system remained off until Oct. 15, McAuliffe said.
A separate food-safety inspection on Oct. 14 found rodent droppings in a cookware storage room and cockroaches in the kitchen food-preparation area, among other issues. After the facility submitted an action plan and received a housing order to address the problems, McAuliffe wrote to Golden Pond’s director and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging and Independence seeking an explanation of the HVAC issues by Oct. 21. The letter said the Board of Health would act if the facility failed to comply with its orders.
The state agency told McAuliffe it had four inspectors at the facility on Oct. 20 conducting a full compliance audit.
Douglas Noble, director of operations at The Communities at Golden Pond, did not respond to a request for comment on the hospital transports and inspection findings. After the resident’s death, he said the facility was cooperating with regulators and that its HVAC system was professionally maintained and working properly at the time. He also said each apartment has an individual thermostat and residents are encouraged to use their call buttons to request staff help.
The investigation and inspections come as officials assess whether the facility’s temperature controls and other conditions met requirements for residents, including those in its assisted-living and memory-care community.