Golden Pond Assisted Living is slated to have its heating system repaired and turned on by Thursday, according to Health Director Shaun McAuliffe.

The news comes after anonymous reports were submitted to the Hopkinton Health Department over the weekend that the system had not yet been repaired. McAuliffe and other representatives from his department visited Golden Pond on Tuesday afternoon to follow up on the facility’s temperatures and conduct a food inspection.

“With the exception of one small area that was at 66 [degrees] … they were operating at a temperature within the regulatory limits,” McAuliffe told the Independent. He noted that director of operations Doug Noble allowed the Health Department to review temperature logs the facility was mandated to keep by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Aging and Independence (AGE).

The health director also said that Golden Pond “finally acknowledged” that the building’s winter heating system had not been in operation since Oct. 1.

The assisted living facility shut off its heat after representatives from the Health Department and Land Use Department visited Oct. 1. During an inspection, town officials found temperatures in the building that exceeded the 78-degree threshold required by state law. The inspection also came after an unattended death at the facility on Sept. 30, which is under investigation by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the AGE.

The 86-year-old Golden Pond resident who died showed no indications of being ill, according to police reports. Public safety officials found the heat on in the woman’s room and described the room as “uncomfortably hot.” An officer who interviewed a facilities manager wrote in a report that the building’s heat had been switched on the day before the woman’s death and stated that no other rooms in the facility were experiencing the issues.

Noble also provided a statement to the Independent after the woman’s death affirming the facility’s HVAC system is “professionally maintained” and was working properly at the time of the incident.

McAuliffe acknowledged that Golden Pond has taken steps to resolve its heating concerns and has been cooperating with officials. However, he expressed concern over the organization’s lack of preparedness for the system’s malfunction.

“They should have enacted an action plan or put a [standard operating procedure] in place to address the excessive heat,” said McAuliffe. He stated that staff were not aware of what plan should have been put in place and therefore had to rely on town departments and public safety officials to reduce the internal temperatures within the building. He especially was concerned about Golden Pond’s memory wards, where residents are less independent, and the ability to open windows and doors is more limited.

“There needs to be additional training, maybe additional staffing, to help residents in those wards with temperature issues,” he said.

McAuliffe also pointed to changes in climate as an influencing factor, noting that the “calendar heating season” is changing. According to Massachusetts General Law, minimum and maximum temperature requirements kick in Sept. 15 and continue to June 15.

“If they had had the heating system on Sept. 15, they would have had problems during that period,” McAuliffe explained, characterizing late September as “really hot.”

Added McAuliffe: “That’s one of the issues that I can see with our region becoming more temperate.”