State officials are investigating a case of Legionnaire’s Disease at the Illinois Veterans’ Home.
Officials with the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Wednesday a resident of the Vets’ Home tested positive for COVID November 30th and showed symptoms of pneumonia about two weeks later. Officials were notified Tuesday the resident had also tested positive for Legionella.
Officials say standard notifications have been sent to residents and their families, along with staff at the home.
The resident who tested positive is responding well to treatment and is recovering.
This is the first case of Legionnaire’s Disease at the Illinois Veterans’ Home since December of 2019.
A single case of Legionnaires' disease was reported at an Illinois veterans home in downstate Quincy, a few years after an outbreak there killed more than a dozen residents.
Michael Kipley/Quincy Herald-Whig file via AP
A single case of Legionnaires’ disease was reported at an Illinois veterans home in downstate Quincy, a few years after an outbreak there killed more than a dozen residents.
The resident tested positive for legionella during a hospital stay for COVID-19 and pneumonia symptoms that started Nov. 30 in Quincy, the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a statement.
Quincy is about 100 miles west of Springfield on the state border with Missouri.
The Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs learned about the positive Legionnaires’ test Dec. 22, officials said.
Health officials said the resident lived at Hammond Hall, which is tested quarterly and last tested negative for legionella Oct. 27.
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On Friday, well-known nursing home personal injury law firm Levin & Perconti announced it was launching investigations on behalf of four families of dead veterans, a precursor to filing suit against the state.
Michael Bonamarte, an attorney handling the cases, said it was indefensible for the outbreak at LaSalle to have become so widespread and deadly eight months into the pandemic, especially after healthcare professionals both in Illinois and around the world learned from nursing home outbreaks in the spring.
“At this point in the game, with all the knowledge we have, in my opinion, it’s inexcusable to see an outbreak of this nature,” Bonamarte told NPR Illinois. “It’s mind-boggling to me how something like that can happen at this stage in the pandemic.”