Durbin Urges Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs to Work Quickly to Implement CDC Recommendations for Quincy Facility
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs to quickly implement recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) following the agency’s investigation into the cause of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Illinois Veterans’ Home (IVH) in Quincy beginning August 2015. In addition to the recommendations, the CDC’s report identified a number of highly concerning environmental and epidemiological factors and policies that led to the rapid onset of the outbreak.
In a letter to Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Erica Jeffries, Durbin wrote: “I urge you to work with IVH Quincy to ensure that the CDC recommendations are implemented swiftly as well as identify ways to prevent such an outbreak in the future. IVH Quincy has an obligation to provide a high quality of care to our veterans, and as this facility is owned, operated, and managed by the State of Illinois, I urge your office to consider a plan of action to uphold this obligation at IVH Quincy and Illinois Veterans’ Homes across the State.”
Following the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak which resulted in 13 deaths – including 12 resident deaths at IVH Quincy – and an additional 54 people testing positive for the disease, Durbin asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to make certain that the Quincy facility was taking the proper steps to provide a high quality of care to Illinois veterans and to prevent any future outbreaks. Both federal agencies confirmed that they have close partnerships with State agencies in order to provide assistance when requested or conduct annual surveys. However, the role of these federal agencies is limited because the facility is owned, operated, and managed by the State of Illinois.
Text of today’s letter is below:
January 6, 2016
Director Erica Jeffries
Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs
James R. Thompson Center
100 West Randolph, Suite 5-570
Chicago, IL 60601
Dear Director Jeffries:
I am writing to you about the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at Illinois Veterans’ Home (IVH) Quincy first reported in early August 2015. The outbreak resulted in more than 50 cases of legionellosis among IVH Quincy residents and staff, as well as the death of 12 residents. The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epi-Aid 2015-037 Trip Report identified a number of highly concerning environmental and epidemiological factors and policies that led to the rapid onset of the outbreak at IVH Quincy, as well as a list of recommendations. I urge the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs to work with IVH Quincy to ensure the appropriate implementation of the CDC’s recommendations and request a complete plan of action to ensure that IVH Quincy is better prepared in the future to prevent and mitigate such a deadly outbreak.
The CDC investigation identified “widespread colonization of the facility’s potable water system and cooling tower with a highly pathogenic strain of Legionella and an at-risk population.” The size of IVH Quincy and its aging infrastructure helped contribute to the outbreak. However, most concerning is that maintenance of systems and timeliness in the surveillance of infections were both lacking, and the facility did not have a comprehensive water management plan or Legionella prevention plan. I was also troubled by media reports in September 2015, which quoted you as stating that the facility needed “an increased amount of treatment in [its] water,” and that staff were “not aware of the level vulnerability.”
I urge you to work with IVH Quincy to ensure that the CDC recommendations are implemented swiftly as well as identify ways to prevent such an outbreak in the future. IVH Quincy has an obligation to provide a high quality of care to our veterans, and as this facility is owned, operated, and managed by the State of Illinois, I urge your office to consider a plan of action to uphold this obligation at IVH Quincy and Illinois Veterans’ Homes across the State.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator