In the News

A group of area business people who received assistance from the first round of stimulus funding from the Small Business Administration’s the Paycheck Protection Program met for a press conference Saturday at the Log Cabin in Holyoke to discuss the impact that the funding had on their businesses. The CARES Act pumped almost $1.2 billion into the economy of Western Massachusetts,… Read more »

(WWLP) – The federal program that is currently providing more than 30 million unemployed Americans with an extra $600 per week expires Friday. As of now, leaders on Capitol Hill aren’t on the same page on a new plan to help those struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sides agree that help is needed but they can’t decide how to move forward. Chairman… Read more »

AT A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING on Wednesday, the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home was held up as a model – a model of what can go wrong when an odd state-federal relationship leaves gaps in who exactly is responsible for the home. The COVID-19 outbreaks at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home and other veterans’ homes throughout the country have spurred calls for the US Department… Read more »

HOLYOKE (CBS) – The former superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home spoke before Congress Wednesday. Paul Barabani retired in 2016, and he said he warned of a lack of proper staffing in the home. “I often ask what if they had listened to my requests for additional staff and the creation of individual rooms in the renovation? How many of these deaths may… Read more »

Members of Congress and the Trump administration differed on “where the buck stops” for veterans nursing facilities during a committee hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill, but most agreed the coronavirus emerged as a teachable moment of the most costly magnitude. The disease has claimed the lives of at least 40,000 in nursing homes across the nation, including 76 at the… Read more »

HOLYOKE, Mass. — A Massachusetts hospital has been granted $8.7 million in federal funding after stepping up during the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home. The Holyoke Medical Center was one of the recipients in the second round of funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which will be distributing $10 billion to hospitals in… Read more »

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Every 10 years, we’re asked to complete a Census in the United States. It’s mandated by the U.S. Constitution, so the government has a better understanding where in the country federal funding should be directed to each year. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told 22News that the Census will help make… Read more »

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Congressman Richard Neal alongside President and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center Spiros Hatiras announced Saturday morning $8.7 million in federal funding will be going to Holyoke Medical Center. According to a news release sent to 22News, Congressman Neal stated what the funds will be provided for and why the medical center is receiving financial… Read more »

Western Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal has announced $8.7 million in federal funding for Holyoke Medical Center. The Democratic Chair of the influential House Ways and Means Committee visited the hospital Saturday morning to announce the funding that comes from the Department of Health and Human Services COVID Fund. WAMC’s Lucas Willard spoke to Neal shortly after the… Read more »

The Holyoke Medical Center will be receiving an additional $8.7 million in federal funding, on top of its original allocation of $2.9 million distributed in early April, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal announced Saturday. Neal and HMC President and CEO Spiros Hatiras held a joint press conference at the hospital Saturday morning announcing the revised allocation. Hatiras said the hospital was… Read more »