Legionnaires' Outbreaks At Ivh Quincy
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a few moments to discuss the Illinois Veteran's Home at Quincy, which houses nearly 400 residents, and has provided quality long-term care to veterans and their spouses since its founding in 1886.
Sadly, for the past 3 years, IVH Quincy has struggled with recurring Legionnaires' disease outbreaks. This tragic issue is nothing short of a scandal.
Legionnaires' disease is a pneumonia-like illness caused by the legionella bacteria and spread through water droplets in the air. At IVH Quincy, residents are elderly and suffer from other medical conditions, making them more likely to get Legionnaires' disease. IVH Quincy has had outbreaks every year since 2015, most recently in February. In total, more than 65 people have been sickened, and 13 people have tragically died.
After every outbreak, Senator Duckworth and I reached out to the State asking Governor Rauner what he needed and offering help. We urged his administration to request assistance from the CDC and the VA, and we committed funds through annual appropriations to help State Veterans Homes like IVH Quincy. We pressed the State to upgrade the plumbing across the IVH Quincy campus and undertake renovations--particularly in those buildings where the bacteria has been most prevalent. We reached out to the CDC and VA ourselves, to help make sure that even though this is a State facility--owned, operated, and managed by Illinois--we were doing everything we could at the Federal level to help support them.
Both agencies assured us they were available to help at any time and have made that clear to State officials as well. In fact, the VA is due to schedule a site visit to provide additional expert assistance any day now.
I have visited IVH Quincy many times in my years representing Illinois, most recently in January and then again on April 30. I had the opportunity to meet with the veterans who reside in the facility, as well as the staff that provide such exceptional care.
While I acknowledge that the legionella bacteria exists in the environment, it was important that the State of Illinois do more to help prevent any future outbreaks.
In 2016, the State finally invested $6.4 million in upgrades to improve the home's water treatment and delivery infrastructure; 65 percent of these funds will soon be reimbursed by the VA.
Governor Rauner visited IVH Quincy on July 27, 2016, and claimed mission accomplished, but clearly it was not enough.
There are also serious discrepancies about the State's handling of these outbreaks. Some families have claimed they were told belatedly about the outbreak or that their loved ones weren't diagnosed or given antibiotics quickly enough to fend off the disease. There are concerns that staff first heard of problems at IVH Quincy through the news or even on Facebook. It is unclear when the Governor himself was notified about the outbreaks or whether his administration requested Federal assistance in a timely fashion. The Governor's office may have also sat for years on formal engineering proposals to renovate older buildings or construct new ones on campus. Now there are outrageous reports that the Governor's staff tried to pin the blame for these outbreaks onto Senator Tammy Duckworth. Can you believe it?
Now, 3 years after the first outbreak, the Governor has finally released a detailed plan of action, and he has finally hired a dedicated staffer to handle the Quincy project. I guess all Governor Rauner needed was an election year to get into gear.
Now I am pleased that Illinois General Assembly officials have been holding hearings in the general assembly on the Quincy Legionnaires' outbreaks. They have committed to providing funds to help prevent these outbreaks from recurring and called for an audit of the State's handling of the outbreaks because, 3 years and 13 deaths later, we still need accountability from this Governor.
At least now we have a plan of action from him, and Senator Duckworth and I will continue to be here, ready to help, because it is about time our veterans at IVH Quincy finally get the respect and care they deserve.
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