After woman dies in 99-degree room, 10 more residents hospitalized at Hopkinton assisted-living facility

The day after an 86-year-old woman was found dead inside a 99-degree room at an assisted-living facility in Hopkinton, the town’s health director received a frantic call. 

A police officer responding to Golden Pond at 50 West Main St. urged him to come immediately, Health Director Shaun McAuliffe recalled. 

“My god, you’ve got to get here now,” the officer told him, according to McAuliffe. 

McAuliffe grabbed the town’s building inspector and arrived within 15 minutes. 

The thermostats were off, but temperatures inside the building ranged from 74 to 94 degrees, he said, and the heating system reached 104 degrees. The problems had begun after the facility switched from air conditioning to heat.

Without a plan from the facility to protect residents from the excessive heat, town officials opened doors and windows and blasted fans while awaiting repairs, McAuliffe said.

But temperature problems reportedly persisted for weeks, prompting further town intervention and complaints that residents were too hot or too cold. Hospital transports were higher than normal, McAuliffe said, though he could not determine whether heat caused the medical calls.

He also said he still does not know the cause of the woman’s death on Sept. 30.

The director of Golden Pond did not respond to a request for comment on this story. 

Temperature problems persisted 

After the town’s initial response on Oct. 1, temperatures remained above the heating-season limit of 78 degrees, according to McAuliffe. 

In a report to the Executive Office of Aging & Independence, he wrote that temperatures exceeding 78 degrees “pose a potential health risk to the elderly residents, including a risk of rapid dehydration, heat exhaustion or heat stroke.”

Hopkinton personnel returned Friday, Oct. 2, to address the heat and transported three people to the hospital. The fire department transported another seven residents that Saturday.

Between Oct. 9 and Oct. 11, the health department received several anonymous complaints about the heating and cooling system. Callers reported that the facility was either too hot or too cold when the air conditioning was briefly turned back on.

Despite reports that the system was fixed by Oct. 15, the department received another report that a resident needed to relocate to a hotel because the temperature in the resident’s room ranged from 86 to 91 degrees.

Golden Pond has 173 assisted-living units, including 59 special-care units.

An Oct. 13 food inspection by the town’s Health Department also found rodent activity, insects, dirty surfaces, holes in walls and ceilings, and food improperly labeled or left unprotected from contamination.

State orders corrective action 

The state’s Executive Office of Aging & Independence had taken enforcement actions against Golden Pond before the woman’s death.

The agency barred new admissions and suspended the facility’s certification in January 2025. It lifted the suspension the following month after Golden Pond made required improvements, then recertified the facility in May 2025 after finding no deficiencies.

After receiving a report of the resident’s death, the agency conducted an on-site review and identified several violations of state regulations governing assisted-living residences.

The facility’s communication log lacked information for staff about ongoing heat conditions and precautions to protect residents during excessive temperatures, according to the agency.

Golden Pond also lacked an automated external defibrillator, and its assisted-living certificate was not posted on its website, the agency said.

The office issued a compliance review report and requested a plan of correction.

“AGE is requiring corrective action and will continue monitoring the facility to protect residents,” a spokesperson said.