Hot Water Issue Forces Closure of Kitchen at Williamstown's Sweetwood
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Sweetwood independent living center is working to restore hot water to the 70-unit facility.
The outage forced the closure of Sweetwood's commercial kitchen and forced residents to use alternatives to the showers in their apartments.
Sweetwood Executive Director Taylor Harding said Tuesday morning that the facility had been without water for "less than a week."
"We don't have a sense of when," hot water will be restored, Taylor said. "We have had plumbers in the building every day the last five days working on every part of our very large system.
"We don't have a time frame, but we are working all hours of the day to resolve the issue."
The issue came to the attention of the town's health inspector on Friday, April 4, through a communication from a family member concerned about their loved one's living conditions.
"Basically, Sweetwood is without domestic hot water," Health Inspector Ruth Russell said on Tuesday morning. "Because of that, I did have to close the kitchen [on Monday]. Once they re-establish it, they will be in compliance with the state code."
Russell said she was in the process of drafting a separate order related to hot water service for the residents, which is covered by a different part of the state sanitary code.
"As soon as the order to correct is received [by Sweetwood's owner], they will have 24 hours to make a correction," Russell said. "I'm still figuring out what happens if they don't meet that timeline."
She did not yet know whether the facility would be required to relocate residents until hot water service is restored.
Harding said residents had the option to relocate, but as of late Tuesday morning, "no residents have been interested in finding anywhere else to go."
Sweetwood's meal service to residents has been uninterrupted despite the kitchen's closure, Harding said, and the facility had enough prepared food to distribute for Tuesday's dinner service, the first meal for which the kitchen was unavailable.
"Every apartment has their own kitchen, so residents are able to prepare their own food as well," Harding said.
She said many Sweetwood residents drive their own cars, but the South Williamstown facility also provides transportation to the supermarket. Harding said she has seen no uptick in the number of residents availing themselves of that service.
As for residents' hygiene, Harding said Sweetwood has made arrangements.
"There are additional resources we've been able to offer to residents if they want to bathe — on and off site," she said.
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