[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 LEGIONNAIRES' OUTBREAKS AT IVH QUINCY

  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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