COFAR blog

Five residents of a group home in Waltham for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities were evacuated from the residence last week after it was ordered shut down due to an insect infestation, according to the mother of one of the residents.

Christine Davidson, whose son John is a resident of the home, which is run by WCI, Inc., a corporate provider to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), said her son and the other residents have been temporarily moved into the Marriott Hotel in Woburn. She said it has been difficult to get information about the situation, and no one has told her when the group home will reopen.

Christine has previously raised concerns about what she contends are unhygienic conditions in the residence.

The insects appear to be cockroaches, based on a photo taken by Christine of her son’s BiPAP breathing machine, which appears to have two roaches inside it. Christine said that when John came home to her house over the weekend, she saw bugs in his breathing machine, and said two bugs crawled out of his wheelchair. BiPAP and CPAP machines are used to treat sleep apnea.

A portion of John’s breathing machine, which appears to contain two cockroaches. (Photo taken by Christine Davidson.)

It is unclear whether the group home was ordered shut after an inspection by DDS. The Department conducts licensure inspections of both provider-run and state-run group homes.

I sent an email Tuesday morning to DDS Commissioner Jane Ryder, asking whether the Department had any comment on the shutdown of the home, and whether the shutdown is an isolated incident. Ryder has not yet responded to my message.

Christine said the residents are being fed meals in their rooms in the hotel. She said John has been taken on a daily basis to his day program in Medford since his move to the hotel, but has few other activities while he is in his hotel room.

She said she is concerned her son’s health may be at risk as a result of the infestation. “Right now, he (John) doesn’t have a breathing machine,” she said. “It’s a dangerous situation.” She said the group home took back his contaminated machine.

Christine said she believes John could have picked up a pulmonary infection by using a machine that was infested with roaches. She said she has made several calls to her son’s DDS service coordinator and the coordinator’s supervisor hoping to relay her concerns and get answers to her questions, but no one has called her back.

Christine has previously raised concerns about unsanitary conditions at the Waltham group home, including the allegedly unhygienic state of John’s BiPAP breathing mask. On February 3, 2022,  Steven Cohen, a gastroenterologist with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, also stated in a medical progress note that John’s breathing mask at that time was “apparently not hygienic.”

Also last February, Christine sent us photos of potentially unsanitary conditions inside the group home, including a clogged air vent, a dirty bathroom, and what appeared to be insect larvae on John’s clothing in his bedroom dresser drawer. At the time, we were not able to confirm that the objects on his clothing were actually larvae.

Christine said that despite her complaints, the unhygienic conditions in the group home have persisted over the past year. It is unclear why those issues have lingered until they apparently triggered a shutdown of the residence.

We are receiving more frequent reports of a lack of activities and proper care of residents in group homes around the state. These reports appear to stem, at least in part, from an ongoing staffing shortage since the COVID pandemic began.