Tewksbury's Blaire House Fails State Coronavirus Inspection

TEWKSBURY, MA — At least 14 residents at Tewksbury's Blaire House have died with coronavirus over the course of the pandemic, according to new figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Public Health.

The facility was also found to be "not in adherence" with the state's infection control guidelines in the first round of Massachusetts Department of Public Health inspections, issued May 15.

Blaire House was one of just 13 nursing homes statewide under the 20-point threshold needed to be deemed "in adherence." It also failed to meet the state's six core standards.

The figures released Wednesday offer the first look at how severely coronavirus has affected senior care homes across the state. Of the over 6,000 coronavirus deaths in the state so far during the pandemic, just over 4,000 are connected to a nursing home.

The state data is self-reported by facilities, and includes deaths in any resident who is confirmed positive for the virus or suspected to have the virus.

Alongside the 13 facilities that missed the 20-point threshold, 119 scored 20 points but failed in one of the six core standards, meaning they were also found to be in noncompliance.

The remaining 228 nursing homes scored 20 points or higher and met the six core standards.

Blaire House failed on both measures.

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The inspections were the first in the COVID-19 Nursing Facility Accountability and Support Program announced by Gov. Charlie Baker on April 27. The audits, which are funded by $130 million the Baker administration allocated to slow the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes, will be conducted every two weeks.

Read the complete nursing home inspection report.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.