I am very concerned about the recent tragic death of a senior citizen and code violations at Golden Pond in Hopkinton. I am in regular contact with Hopkinton officials and the state about what has been transpiring these past several weeks. Hopkinton Public Health and Public Safety have been very responsive and likely saved many lives. I will continue to monitor through appropriate channels that facility management addresses the code violations; however, if problems persist, or if you want to share your recent experience you should also contact the AGE [Executive Office of Aging & Independence] hotline at the state. You can call AGE 24/7 Protective Services Hotline any time to report extreme heat or cold (or any form of caregiver neglect) — phone 800-922-2275. There is also an online option if you prefer not to call, you can file a report online at mass.gov/info-details/report-abuse-of-adults-aged-60#how-to-report-online.
In addition to filing a formal complaint with AGE, feel free to also call my office (617-722-2810) or send a copy to my email james.arena-derosa@mahouse.gov. At the state level, I am already working with the chairs of the Committee on Public Health and Committee on Elder Affairs to review what happened and potential remedies. Over time, a new type of living arrangement for seniors has evolved. We used to have senior housing as well as nursing home/health care facilities for seniors. As this new type of residence with mixed services has emerged, I am looking at filing legislation that would explore whether the state should give local public health [officials] more investigative purview. I am also looking to ensure that when residents complain to their local health department, anything local officials then relay and report to AGE/the commonwealth is treated as a formal complaint. When we are entrusting the care of ourselves and loved ones to private entities, we deserve to know that appropriate oversight and accountability are in place to ensure the highest quality of care.
— James Arena-DeRosa, state representative
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My mom died at Golden Pond in May after only being there since January. She was very mobile and mostly aware of her surroundings and people when we moved her in. We immediately had issues with her medications being provided and the heat in her room and on the second floor of memory care that she was in. Within a very short time they had taken away her walker and had her using a wheel chair. Within 2 months they told me she needed more care than they could give her on the 2nd floor and that she needed to be moved to the 3rd floor where there was more staff. They proceeded to lose her dentures so she had no teeth to eat and didn’t change her diet to soft foods that she could chew. She developed thrush in her mouth because before they lost the dentures they were not cleaning them properly. Shortly after she was moved to the 3rd floor she ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks fore multiple infections and failure to thrive. She was refusing her meds and refusing to eat. She died at Golden pond on May 26th, 2026 after less than 5 months. I was told she was found in her wheel chair deceased when they thought she was sleeping. I do not completely believe the story they gave me but had no resources to find out any more. The place was always so hot that they regularly had windows open even in the winter. She went there with a will to live and gave up all will within 5 month period. I was referred there by Summit Elder Care social worker and that is the biggest mistake I made was moving her there. You think a place looks nice and is clean and everyone is friendly and looks are very deceiving. There was never enough staff and most of the ones had no idea how to care for people who were in the memory care floor. She was very healthy when we moved her in with the only real complaint being that she had Alzheimer’s. We moved her January 7th and she died May 26th. Something needs to be done to help the people living there.
I’m really sorry. High heating temperatures have been a problem there for several years. Despite informing maintenance and administration on multiple occasions, our requests went ignored.