Metro East Sun

Certain state-controlled homes for veterans are under the microscope as scrutiny of rising negligence concerns continues.

A March report from the Interagency Infection Prevention Project (IIPP) found that the Quincy Veterans Home, which was rocked by a Legionnaires' in 2015, did not enact the infectious disease policies suggested in a May 2019 audit by the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. The Legionnaires' outbreak caused more than a dozen deaths, sickened dozens more and cost the state almost $6.5 million in settlements to families of the deceased

Legionnaires' has lingered in the facility for years, with a case reported in Quincy as recent as December 2020.

The mismanagement and neglect of infection prevention go beyond the one facility, various news sources have found.

In the 11 negligence lawsuits from families and a yearslong investigation by WBEZ Chicago, the chronic return of the deadly disease is attributed to poor response from the governor, millions of wasted taxpayer dollars into supposed water system upgrades that didn't prevent the disease from returning and an overall lack of response that eventually caused the resignation of former Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs director Linda Chapa LaVia.

While Quincy is arguably the most poorly contained state veterans facility for infection prevention, it isn't the only one. The IIPP report identified three other state homes — LaSalle, Manteno and Anna — that lack the infection prevention protocols needed to curb infectious outbreaks, such as a global pandemic.

"A recent report from two state agencies and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found Illinois' four state-run veterans homes lack standardized infection prevention policies despite previous audits suggesting they be implemented," State Rep. David Friess (R-Red Budd) said in a March 24 Facebook post. "As a veteran myself, this report is troubling. We must work to improve the quality of care for our veterans."

The IIPP report is put together by the U.S. and Illinois departments of veterans affairs and the Illinois Department of Public Health. The agencies came together after they visited LaSalle in November of last year in response to a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Herald-Review.

Examples of poor infection prevention practices identified at the facilities include inappropriate personal protective equipment use, ineffective nonalcohol-based sanitizer and no social distancing implementation.