WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Bickford Health Care Center, a 48-bed nursing home in Windsor Locks, has been ordered to close by April 10, 2026, after a 93-year-old resident with Alzheimer's disease wandered out of the facility in the middle of the night and was found dead in a snowbank in below-zero temperatures. The closure displaces all 36 current residents, who now face a roughly 30-day scramble to secure new long-term care placements.
The resident, Margaret "Peggy" Healey, a former Catholic school teacher and nun who had lived at Bickford for two years, left the facility through a rear employee entrance at approximately 1:50 a.m. on February 8, 2026, according to surveillance video reviewed by investigators. As reported by The Hartford Courant, staff did not discover Healey was missing until 4:45 a.m., and police were not contacted until 6:23 a.m. — more than four hours after she walked out. She was pronounced dead at 6:46 a.m.
According to WFSB, Healey was found face down in a snowbank in the facility's driveway wearing only pajamas and sneakers. She had been equipped with an ankle bracelet wander guard, but the door she used to exit was not connected to the alert system, according to the investigation. Staff reportedly delayed calling an ambulance for nearly two hours after initially finding her outside, according to accounts from state lawmakers briefed on the incident.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health subsequently cited Bickford for 14 violations stemming from its investigation into Healey's death. According to The Hartford Courant, the deficiencies included failure to maintain proper alarms on three emergency exit doors, lack of 24-hour physician coverage, failure to notify police within 15 minutes of discovering a missing resident, and failure to verify the functionality of the wander guard alert system.
State Rep. Jane Garibay, who chairs the legislature's aging committee, revealed that only two staff members were on duty the night Healey died — when there should have been five, as reported by WFSB. Garibay and State Sen. Dr. Jeff Gordon have both criticized the 30-day closure timeline, with Garibay noting she was not kept informed and that other facility closures in the state have typically taken months to complete.
Connecticut's State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Mairead Painter met with residents and their families twice on Monday to assist in coordinating the transition. Painter acknowledged the emotional toll the closure is taking on the facility's tight-knit community.
"I think in general everyone's just disappointed and upset," Painter told WFSB. "They are part of a small community here, and they think it's important to be able to stay in their community of origin. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of other nursing homes in this immediate area."
Painter indicated that the April 10 deadline could be extended for any residents who have not yet secured an appropriate new placement. She added that her office and the facility's management team are working together to match each resident with a setting that meets their individual care needs.
"There have been concerns over a period of time. And although everyone was hopeful that things would turn around and they would successfully be able to stay here and have different management in place where things would be fixed, unfortunately that wasn't the story," Painter said.
The Department of Social Services has appointed temporary manager Katharine Sacks to oversee the transfer of all 36 residents, according to reporting by Fox61. The DSS is managing the financial aspects of the transition while the DPH oversees the closure procedures. The state has characterized the closure as non-emergency, noting that use of the term "emergency" can cause additional trauma and risk to residents — a distinction that has drawn criticism from some lawmakers who argue an emergency declaration would place displaced residents at the top of waiting lists at other facilities.
CMS Inspection History
Federal Medicare data paints a picture of a facility that had been struggling long before Healey's death. Bickford Health Care Center holds a one-star overall rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — the lowest possible score — according to CMS Care Compare data. The facility's health inspection rating is also one star out of five, while its quality measures rating stands at two stars. Its staffing rating of four stars is notably higher, though lawmakers' accounts of the night of Healey's death suggest actual staffing levels may not have consistently reflected that metric.
CMS records show 96 total deficiencies across 16 inspections on file for the facility. Notably, during an inspection on November 4, 2025 — just three months before Healey's death — federal surveyors cited Bickford for failing to ensure the facility was free from accident hazards and for not providing adequate supervision to prevent accidents. That citation now appears grimly prescient.
An April 2024 inspection yielded multiple deficiency citations, including failures to protect residents from abuse and neglect, failure to honor residents' rights to voice grievances without reprisal, and failure to respect residents' rights regarding treatment decisions and advance directives. According to WFSB, the facility received 24 citations during that April 2024 inspection cycle alone. A separate November violation involved water temperatures high enough to cause burn injuries, as reported by WFSB.
The facility had also been cited for violating state law twice in the year prior to Healey's death, according to Western Mass News.
Ownership & Operations
Bickford Health Care Center is classified as a non-profit corporation in CMS records and operates 48 licensed beds. According to WFSB, the facility is currently in foreclosure proceedings and owes more than $105,000 in back taxes to the town of Windsor Locks, potentially facing auction. The financial distress adds another layer of complexity to a closure that has already upended the lives of dozens of vulnerable residents and their families.
Resources for Families
Families of Bickford residents — or anyone with concerns about conditions at a Connecticut nursing home — can contact the following resources for assistance:
- Connecticut Long-Term Care Ombudsman: 1-866-388-1888 - National Elder Care Locator Hotline: 1-800-677-1116 - Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center: https://ltcombudsman.org
The ombudsman's office can assist with placement coordination, advocate for residents' rights during facility transitions, and help families evaluate the quality of alternative care settings. Families are encouraged to request a copy of any prospective facility's most recent state inspection report and to check its CMS star rating before agreeing to a transfer.