SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – An audit has criticized the state’s response to the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Quincy veterans’ home that caused 13 deaths .
Auditor General Frank Mautino’s report Monday found fault with a six-day delay between confirmation of a second case of Legionnaires’ at Quincy in August 2015 and specific instructions to nursing staff to protect residents.
He recommended that the Illinois Departments of Veterans’ Affairs and Public Health develop strict procedures for notification, patient monitoring and more. The agencies generally agreed with the findings.
The audit blamed the deadly flu-like outbreak on water that sat unused in a boiler and was insufficiently heated before released.
Mautino found that 66 Quincy residents and eight employees contracted Legionnaires’, including the 13 deaths. Former Gov. Bruce Rauner decided to rebuild the campus.
