Legionnaires Quincy Veterans Home Redactions

Illinois State Veterans Home $245 Million Legionnaires’ Debacle After State Governor Tries To Obfuscate The Truth

The years-long Legionnaires’ disease crisis at Illinois state veterans homes will cost the state over $245 million to fix after many veterans died from unclean water systems.

State governor Bruce Rauner now recommends a plan costing $245 million to revamp the plumbing system at Quincy veterans home where old systems are breading the Legionella bacteria that caused the death of 13 residence since 2015.

The newest proposal comes after the state’s officials were caught redacting tons of emails given to lawmakers that were instead unredacted when given to members of the press. Once lawmakers at the state level realized they were duped by the governor’s team, the truth of in the documents jarred loose hundreds of millions to fix the problem.

RELATED: Redacted Legionnaires’ Emails

Redacted Emails

According to Illinois Public Radio:

WBEZ had previously obtained some Legionnaires’-related emails from the public health department in Adams County, where the Quincy home is located. The Rauner administration later handed over some of those same emails to the legislative committee investigating the outbreaks — with significantly more redactions. By cross-checking the two groups of documents, it’s possible to see some of what Rauner’s office didn’t want lawmakers to see. 

In some cases, lawmakers received documents so heavily redacted that they were virtually useless. Furthermore, lawmakers simply did not receive some emails written by administration officials that WBEZ knows to exist. 

The analysis offers a rare side-by-side look into the subjective — and often inconsistent — way the administration has shielded documents from public scrutiny, which one transparency advocate said “upends” the spirit of Illinois’ public records law.

“Government appears, in this instance at least, to be more invested in black ink than anything else,” said Terry Mutchler, who was in charge of helping enforce the state’s public records law under Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

This seems bad, and it sounds very similar to how the Department of Veterans Affairs tries to obfuscate investigations nationally. Once the governor was busted, his tune suddenly changed.

Details On Plumbing Repair

According to the Northwest Herald:

The report concludes that the home, 310 miles (500 kilometers) west of Chicago, be rebuilt to rid the 130-year-old campus of corroded piping and create state-of-the-art living conditions with the changing health care needs of veterans in mind. It includes a newly built residential facility housing 300 for up to $230 million; replacing all the underground plumbing for $2.2 million; drilling a groundwater well to be the home’s sole water source for up to $4.5 million; and the purchase and renovation of a nearby, vacant nursing home for additional space for up to $7 million.

“I’ve heard no one indicate that they’re not supportive of this,” said Michael Hoffman, a senior advisor to the governor told The Associated Press last week. “We have proposed the plan, we studied this for a while, we moved as quickly as we could but also want to be diligent because we’re talking about a lot of taxpayer money, but I think there’s wide consensus that this is the right thing to do for our veterans.”

“We have been talking about deferred maintenance issues at our veterans’ homes and elsewhere and certainly would be open to conversations,” Hoffman said. “But I wouldn’t want to tie this project at Quincy to any other type of projects that could delay the process on this one.”

Other Illinois State VA Repairs

Three other state veterans homes are also struggling with long-overdue maintenance that will cost at least $120 million.

I have personally followed the Legionnaires’ issue in Illinois for a few years since I am originally from Illinois and my family follows veterans issues in the state.

Let me know if any of you know much else about what is going on nationwide about this kind of problem. We know the Department of Veterans Affairs has experienced repeat problems with antiquated plumbing and the life-threatening disease.

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18 Comments

  1. Report from the GAO: GAO-18-325: Published: Apr 25, 2018. Publicly Released: May 7, 2018.

    Veterans Affairs Research: Actions Needed to Help Better Identify Agency Inventions

    ______________
    What GAO Found

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken steps to educate agency researchers about its requirements to disclose inventions to VA, but officials reported that researchers have not consistently done so. VA policy requires researchers to disclose inventions to both VA and the university they work for even when they do not use VA resources. GAO found, through discussions with VA officials and researchers, that several factors contribute to researchers not consistently disclosing their inventions, including that VA researchers may have:

    disclosed inventions to their university, assuming the university would then disclose them to VA;

    not been familiar with VA’s invention disclosure process, because they may not have frequently developed inventions; or

    thought that invention disclosure was unnecessary when they did not use VA resources to develop their invention.

    In 2017, VA staff visited universities and VA medical centers 26 times to meet with researchers about invention disclosure. Also, VA created an online training course to educate researchers on the need to disclose inventions, but the training is not mandatory, and about 4 percent of researchers took it. Without mandatory training to communicate invention disclosure requirements—consistent with federal internal control standards for internally communicating quality information—VA researchers may not be fully informed about those requirements, which can result in lost technology transfer opportunities and royalties for VA.

    Full Report at: “https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/691501.pdf”

    How many Billions did the VA spend on the drug that was developed by VA researcher Raymoned Shinazi for the treatment of Hep-C. Was it $5 or $6 Billion?

    How many Billions will the VA be paying for the luke Arm developed by VA researchers and funding?

  2. @Ben Krause and others – This was sent to me. Young concept, should include no VSO’s. Ben Krause would be an excellent prospect for such committee.

    “https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/enact-veterans-committee-made-regular-veterans-help-solve-problems-va”

  3. Congress is working for the VA. We’re on our own brothers and sisters. Thanks for your service. I’m out.

  4. 05/07/2018

    Dear Benjamin Krause,

    In Arizona, almost all the politicians [Local/County/ and State] told me they had nothing to do with the Veterans back when “Cut & Draw Blood” came out in 09/11/2014.

    Now, Four (4) years later, the Media still pushes that there is only 40 dead in Phoenix; which goes against the VA’s own numbers that are well over 600.

    Our Journalists are just as bad as our Politicians. If our Politicians, Doctors, Journalists, and Bankers are screwed up how long does Society have? I had asked this question to Sheriff Block days before his sudden death [3 days before the Election in LA, CA].

    “Government appears, in this instance at least, to be more invested in black ink than anything else,” said Terry Mutchler, who was in charge of helping enforce the state’s public records law under Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Ben you do know that Staples makes a lot of money on black ink!

    Drilling a hole in the ground does not cost $4.5 million. I am from Ohio.

    If you are going to “Rebuild”—you better put the VA hospital near a lake.

    Sound like someone needs a new Governor.

    When honesty fails, everything else is for the birds.

    Sincerely,

    Don Karg

  5. TITLED;
    “Lawmakers May Extend Agent Orange to ‘Blue Water’ Navy Vets”

    From: “Stars and Stripes”
    Dated: “5 May 2018”
    By Nikki Wentling
    “Lawmakers are resuming an effort that stalled in November to extend health benefits to about 90,000 sailors who served in Vietnam and were potentially exposed to Agent Orange.”

    “Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced a reworked bill Friday that now includes a method to pay for extending Agent Orange benefits to Vietnam War veterans who were located on ships off the Vietnamese coast, known as “Blue Water” sailors.”

    “Republicans and Democrats on the committee wrangled five months ago over the cost of extending the benefits to these sailors, although they all are seemingly supportive of the measure now.”

    “Today is a great day for Blue Water Navy veterans,” Roe wrote in a prepared statement. “We owe it to the brave veterans who served in the Vietnam War to provide benefits for conditions they may have developed because of exposure to Agent Orange.”

    “The Department of Veterans Affairs already presumes that ground troops in Vietnam — and others who served in the country’s inland waterways — were exposed to Agent Orange, a dioxin-laden herbicide that’s been found to cause respiratory cancers, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease as well as other conditions.”

    “Blue Water veterans have been denied the same benefits. The VA has argued there is not enough evidence to link Agent Orange to sailors on board aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers and others ships.”

    “In Congress, the fight stalled on multiple occasions because lawmakers have disagreed on how to pay for it.”

    “Extending the benefits to Blue Water veterans for 10 years would cost $1.1 billion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated.”

    “To pay for the extension, Roe introduced a proposal Friday to increase fees for service members and veterans who use the VA’s home loan program. The increase would amount to $2.95 each month for homeowners who made no down payment. The increase would average $2.82 each month for people who made a 5 percent down payment and $2.14 each month for people who put 10 percent down.”

    “The fee rates have not increased since 2004, Roe’s office said. Under law, fees are waived for veterans who have a disability connected to their military service. That would still be the case.”

    “Members of the National Guard and Reserve incur slightly higher fees through the home loan program. Roe’s proposal would bring their fee rates in line with other service members and veterans.”

    “John Wells, an attorney and director of the group Military-Veterans Advocacy, has been fighting on behalf of Blue Water veterans since 2008. A bill to extend benefits to those veterans has never made it past committee, he said.”

    “The bill now appears positioned to overcome that hurdle.”

    “In November, Roe proposed paying for the Agent Orange benefits with a “round down” that would round the cost-of-living adjustment on veterans’ disability checks to the nearest dollar amount.”

    “Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the ranking Democrat on the House VA committee, argued at the time that the cost should not be offset by taking from other veterans. He and Roe agreed to work with veterans service organizations and find another way to pay for it.”

    “Walz said Friday that he would support the reworked legislation.”

    “This legislation is yet another example of the good we can accomplish when we work together on a bipartisan basis with veterans service organizations and reach across the aisle,” Walz wrote in a prepared statement. “I am proud we will finally be able fix this broken promise to our nation’s veterans.”

    “The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will meet Tuesday and decide whether to send the bill to the full House.””
    _________________________________________

    [My note: I’ve left the “comments section” from the article “as is” for all to read! And, after all this B/S they want vets to pay to receive “Choice”!]

    ——————————————————————-

    Joseph OBrien20 hours ago There were many of us stationed in the Philippine, I was on Mactan. We made many, many trips to VN under Verbal Orders of the Commander for doing maintenance on our AC….VA says no written orders tough s…!
    when the Boss says get on that C-130 and get over there, you don’t ask….heck…never entered our minds, we went period!!
    Reply
    User avatar
    I tex1 day ago the man on the ships although Bray for never exposed to any danger at all during the war now they want the same benefits as those who are actually in the country I’m exposed to this and exposed to dangerous. Vegas danger that most of these men on the ships has is exposure to VD when they stop by Olongapo this is a fraud of the worst making.. The soldiers directionally face the dangers should have benefits of this. The sailors who joined up to avoid ground Duty and actually did not have any danger should not be given additional benefits.
    Reply
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    36693242I tex17 hours agoMy father was a Hospital Corpsman aboard the USS Barney (DDG-6) when it was struck by a shell from a Vietnam shore battery. He removed shrapnel from a wounded sailor’s leg. Receving benefits has nothing to do with how much combat activity a veteran was or wasn’t exposed to. Not all dangerous events happen only in a wartime situation. One of the most dangerous positions in all the services is that of the flight deck personnel aboard carriers. The soldiers to whom you refer do get benefits and always have since 1991 when the Agent Orange Act was passed. So were the Blue Water Navy veterans, but the VA changed the regulation in 2002. This act RESTORES the benefits that were taken away.
    Reply
    User avatar
    Lorence Parker3669324214 hours agoNeed to do some reserach as this never happened..
    Reply
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    Rosalee Adams1 day agoDad was USN/MSC for 30 years and then served an additional 8 years as an adviser embedded with the Marines in I Corps
    Vietnam claimed him 10 years to the day Saigon fell. He was eaten up by cluster cancer related to Agent Orange.
    The sad part is anyone who served in VN and died later from service connected cannot be put on the wall
    Not that he would want that, but just saying how little recognition of what AO did.
    Reply
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    Mike Zondlo1 day agothey should have NEVER been excluded!!!! hope they get ALL the back pay too!!!!
    Reply
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    Leo Johnson1 day agoI served in country Vietnam from March 18 2967to april 18 1969 then iwas stationed aboard the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S Hancock from May 10 1969 to Sepr 1 1971 So I qualify for all the “Agent Orange ” benefits .But haven’t as of yet received Any.I have peeling of the skin and other ailments associated with Agent Orange .I applied through VA but always got ‘DENIED” I even showed them copies of my Order’s when I was sent to Vietman and when I was sent onboard the U.S.S Hancock but that didn’t matter I always got “DENIED”.
    Reply
    User avatar
    Charles Berberian1 day agoThere were Naval/Marine aircraft that touched down on airfields in Vietnam to later land on board a/c carriers, bringing with thme residue of A/O.
    Reply
    User avatar
    Joseph OBrien2 days agoBS ……VA is still dragging there feet regarding Vets that served in Thailand. Been well documented that AO was used at all Thai bases, yet currently VA is saying you had to be walking the perimeter to qualify!
    Navy out on the water??
    Reply
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    John La Due2 days agoWhat’s next, claims from the aircrews that were based in Guam and flew B-52 missions over Vietnam?
    Reply
    User avatar
    18598502John La Due1 day agohey, don’t forget the U2 and SR71 crews
    Reply
    User avatar
    8400486185985021 day agoTake care of the grunts first and foremost that filled their canteens out of streams and rice paddies don’t tell me they didn’t bear the brunt of AO. I just cant see spending a billion on blue water sailors that had fresh food and safe water onboard ships. Any AO runoff is a joke it would have been so dispersed even a mile out.
    Give it a rest Cong Roe you are retiring do more for those grunts!!! Their is no comparison.
    Reply
    User avatar
    3669324284004861 day agoRunoff is a joke? The water from rivers that flowed out into the sea did so for years and years. The distillation systems aboard the ships enriched the dioxin by a factor of ten. Just how did you conclude how much dispersal there was a mile out? The grunts you speak of are already covered and have been since 1991.
    Reply
    User avatar
    343132812 days ago Wonder if they considered cost when they approved Agent Orange usage.
    Reply
    User avatar
    Lorence Parker2 days agoThe same Guys who laughed at us for being Ground Pounders in Vietnam. “We joined the Navy so we wouldn’t have to Fight in Vietnam, You Stupid Guys got drafted and are now getting shot at, *-U for being so Stupid”……Now they want to be called Vietnam Veterans and get all the AO Benefits. Some of us still remember what you called us “Blue Water Floatees”…
    Reply
    User avatar
    367600032 days agoHow about service members in USA and Europe. The ocean’s waters go there also?? When will this scam end?
    Reply

    1. How about: ANYWHERE Agent Orange or it’s toxic derivatives were utilized and Vets worked around/near it…automatically grant claim and backpay…then start same with all the burn pits, depleted Uranium, et al???

      Again, the Piggy VSO’s, each and every variety of N. American Funny Hat Bearers Society, have HELPED the VA stall, delay, deny, waiting for all Vietnam Vets to die…then, and only then, maybe, will VA and DoD say, “Oh, that shit was toxic, that’s what happened to them all…”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Just wait until we start using tactical nukes and attempted claims on radiation fallout…all the sudden gamma rays will be in breakfast cereals because RAND says they are so damn healthy…wait for it…

      Kind of in a MOOD today…assholes do this to me every time.

  6. This is a travesty that has gone on for several years, finally coming to a head with Rainer holding the bag.

    If I were a family member who lost a loved one at that shithole in Quincy, I would be looking for some flesh eating lawyer to find out why it took so long to resolve this problem.

    And gee, there just happens to be an empty nursing home nearby that they bought for $7 million? Either its in pristine condition, or some former nursing home owner has an Illinois politician for a relative.

    Yes, they are doing the right thing now that they have been forced to do so. But it will take years before the first veteran ever sets foot in the new facility. What will they do until it is built?

    130 years old. Think of any other facility in Illinois that is still being used after just 50 years.

    I can’t believe it is simply a water pipe issue more than a maintenance issue of their HVAC system.

  7. “[…entirely replace piping/plumbing….fix problem…]”

    Nope, how about replacing the incompetent assholes that work at the Marion Veteran’s Home, all else will follow because THEY ARE THE INFECTIOUS AGENT…the VA itself is SO toxic, it’s indifference manifests itself in wake of dead Vets by either gross negligence in persistent fly infestations in operating rooms, or Legionnaires flowing through pipes…

    I have an idea: How about we send ALL the “Legion” of VSO nursing home vets from the USA all to Marion VA Retirement Home….I BET after the FIRST piggy dies of Legionnaires, that facility would magically be flooded with contractors wanting to do the right thing…for a price…

    Yet another example of how fucking useless the typical swamp VSO’s have been for Vets because…IF THEY WERE ACTUALLY HELPING…we would not still be reading about this…EPIC FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    (a fresh month of May fuck-you, VA)

  8. From; “military.com”

    “Vets Groups Back Congress’ Second Try on Choice, Caregiver Programs”

    Military.com
    4 May 2018
    By Richard Sisk

    “Major veterans organizations on Friday backed the new effort by Congress to pass legislation that would provide $4.2 billion to extend the Veterans Choice program while greatly expanding the caregivers program for families of disabled vets.”

    “The American Legion and the Disabled American Veterans both endorsed the bill introduced by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. The bill would also order a review of the facilities and inventory of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
    “Congress offered similar legislation last year, but the programs were left out of the $1.3 billion omnibus spending package that passed in March and was reluctantly signed by President Donald Trump.”
    “Roe has claimed the backing of Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, the committee’s ranking member. Trump reportedly has signaled that he will sign the new bill.”

    “Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie has warned that the current Veterans Choice Program, which allows for the outsourcing of VA health care to the private sector, will run out of funding next month unless Congress acts.”

    “The bill introduced Wednesday by Roe would provide $4.2 billion to extend the program and also reform the way it is administered.”

    “The legislation as currently written would require the VA to ensure the scheduling of medical appointments in the private sector in a timely manner and coordinate coverage for veterans who utilize care outside of a region in which they reside.”

    “The VA would also be directed to provide: “access to community care if VA does not offer the care or services the veteran requires,” a summary of the bill states.”

    “The bill also deals with a major concern of the veterans groups on the caregivers program, which is currently limited to the families of post-9/11 veterans.”

    “The VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers provides small stipends to family caregivers that in many cases allow disabled veterans to remain at home.”

    “Under the proposed legislation, the caregiver program would be expanded to benefit the families of all veterans with a serious injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty.”

    “In a statement, Roe said, “This legislation must be passed and, if Congress fails to act, veterans will pay for that failure.” (The full summary of the bill can be read here.)”

    “Veterans groups have been cautious about supporting changes in the Choice program, fearing the “privatization” of VA health care, but Denise Rohan, national commander of the more than two-million-member American Legion, gave her support.”

    “In a statement, Rohan said, “We believe this legislation, as currently written, represents a fair compromise that will help to strengthen veterans’ health care for future generations while ensuring that veterans’ caregivers of all generations get the support they deserve.””

    “She said of Choice, “When VA care is unavailable, we support the use of non-VA providers. We also believe the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs must remain the gatekeeper for health care and that veterans should not be expected to pay for care related to their service-connected disabilities.””

    “Garry Augustine, executive director of the DAV’s Washington headquarters said, “DAV has long advocated for extending comprehensive caregiver benefits to veterans injured and ill prior to September 11, 2001, and this legislation takes major strides to close that gap and provide equity to thousands of family caregivers.””

    ——————————————————————-

    Gotta love the VSO’s take on giving more taxpayers dollars to the VA!
    More bullshit from our “out of touch”, “antiquated”, “supporters of the VA killing machine”!

  9. Ben you stated “Let me know if any of you know much else about what is going on nationwide about this kind of problem.”

    Currently in California the Legionnaires cover-up is at Loma Linda VA Medical Center. Doctors at Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center have filed a federal whistleblower complaint alleging hospital officials of a Legionnaires’ cover-up.

    “Doctors accuse Loma Linda VA medical center officials of Legionnaires’ cover-up”

    By Scott Schwebke
    The Sun
    PUBLISHED: May 3, 2018

    “A group of physicians and nurses has filed a federal whistleblower complaint alleging officials at Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center in Loma Linda are covering up a Legionella bacteria outbreak, putting patients at risk for often lethal Legionnaires’ disease.

    The five-page, redacted complaint, submitted in February to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and obtained by the Southern California News Group, requests acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie to investigate the allegations.

    “We have an administration (at the hospital) not following Veterans Administration directives to protect the welfare of employees, patients and visitors from exposure to Legionella,” Dr. Linda Hyder Ferry, chief of preventive medicine at Pettis Medical Center and among more than a dozen whistleblowers, said in a phone interview.

    A few weeks after the whistleblowers filed their complaint, federal officials converged on the hospital and collected hundreds of pages of patient records, Ferry said.
    VA denies Legionella problem

    Wade J. Habshey, a spokesman for the Pettis Medical Center, denied there is a Legionella outbreak at the facility.”

    ____________________________________
    Complaint: Staff not notified of 2017 discovery

    The complaint alleges the hospital’s administration has not notified the medical staff of the Legionella first discovered in 2017, has failed to correct the problem and has denied the bacteria exist at the facility.

    “There are many employees and patients who could have been exposed from August/September to November from the sporadic growth of Legionella in the water system,” the complaint says.”

    ________________________
    State unaware of any outbreak

    The whistleblowers also maintain Pettis Medical Center officials have not been forthcoming with the California Department of Public Health.

    “Public health investigators were told by Loma Linda VA officials that there was no Legionella exposure to report, there was no verified index case and that the water testing was negative,” says the complaint.

    As of Wednesday, state health officials said they had no reports of a Legionella outbreak.

    However, a Pettis Medical Center doctor, who belongs to the whistleblower group and asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, remains unconvinced and is concerned Legionella is widespread.

    “We don’t know how many patients may have died from Legionnaires’ pneumonia,” the physician said. “If they don’t tell doctors … (about the existence of Legionella), we don’t do testing.””

    Full Article At: “https://www.sbsun.com/2018/05/03/doctors-accuse-loma-linda-va-medical-center-officials-of-legionnaires-cover-up/”

    1. Then there is the existing problem at the Pittsburgh VA hospital located in Oakland. That problem began sometime before 2011 and is still an issue with legionella bacteria still being found at the facility. Repeated investigations have found that it was caused by human error and numerous reports have tried to cover up the ongoing problem killing Veterans there.

      Sources:

      **************
      VA hospital knew human error caused Legionnaires’ outbreak
      By Jennifer Janisch CBS News March 13, 2014
      “https://www.cbsnews.com/news/va-hospital-knew-human-error-caused-legionnaires-outbreak/”

      “NEW YORK — In January 2013, CBS News reported that a Veterans Affairs hospital in Pittsburgh knew for more than a year it had an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, but failed to warn patients.

      VA officials testified before Congress on February 5, 2013, blaming the facilities’ old water system for the outbreak.

      Now, emails and internal memos obtained by CBS News indicate top employees at the Pittsburgh VA knew human error was behind the outbreak, and not an equipment failure as officials suggested to Congress.”

      *****************
      CDC corrects journal article on Pittsburgh VA Legionnaires’ outbreak
      Journal editor said Post-Gazette series led to the change
      Sean D. Hamill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jul 22, 2017
      “https://www.post-gazette.com/healthtoday/2017/07/23/CDC-error-correction-journal-article-on-Pittsburgh-VA-Legionnaires-outbreak/stories/201707180024”

      “In a rare move, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has corrected a journal article it authored about its investigation of the 2011 and 2012 Legionnaires’ outbreak at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

      The editor of the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal said the correction last month in the 2015 article was the result of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s series in December that revealed that CDC officials involved in the investigation held biases against two Legionnaires’ experts who used to work at the VA, as well as the disinfectant system that the VA had been using to control Legionella.

      That bias, the series disclosed, appears to have affected the way the VA not only investigated the outbreak — which sickened 22 veteransleading to the death of six of them — but how it ultimately reported its findings. It blamed the copper-silver ionization disinfectant system for the outbreak instead of the people who managed and maintained it for the VA.

      Those findings contradicted a VA Inspector General report in 2013 that found that the outbreak was due to poor management generally and poor maintenance of the copper-silver system specifically — not that the copper-silver system itself had failed. The system is considered the gold-standard in the industry.”

      ***************
      Legionnaires’ Disease Discovery Leads To Water Restrictions In Pittsburgh Veteran Affairs Hospital
      30 January 2017, 12:00 pm EST By Anne Baker Tech Times
      “https://www.techtimes.com/articles/195117/20170130/legionnaires-disease-discovery-leads-to-water-restrictions-in-pittsburgh-veteran-affairs-hospital.htm”

      “A veterans affairs hospital in Pittsburgh is currently under water restriction after the discovery of Legionella bacteria in many areas of the facility. The bacteria causes Legionnaires’ disease.

      This is not the first time that the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is coping with Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. In 2011 and 2012, at least six patients died because of Legionnaires’ disease and 22 fell sick.”

      ********************

      Prison Doctor Dies of Legionnaires’ Disease
      Loaded on March 6, 2018 published in Prison Legal News March, 2018,
      “https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2018/mar/6/prison-doctor-dies-legionnaires-disease/”

      Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian

    2. Additional Legionella in California Veterans community

      Legionnaires’ disease investigated at Veterans home in Fresno
      By Barbara Anderson, The Fresno Bee, January 04, 2018
      “https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article193091904.html”

      “A resident at the Veterans Home of California – Fresno has tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease and is being treated at the Fresno VA hospital.

      The veteran tested positive for the respiratory disease Wednesday, said June Iljana, deputy secretary for communication at the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

      No one else at the 300-bed long-term care facility in southwest Fresno has tested positive for the disease, Iljana said. The home opened in October 2013.

      Iljana said the patient undergoing treatment at the VA Hospital lives in the residential care portion of the Veterans Home and comes and goes at will. “So he could have been exposed somewhere else,” she said.

  10. Know this, that before any big change in the VA, a change that effects a large number of Veterans, doesn’t happen frequently, so any WINS against the VA, will be done on a one-on-one basis when a Veteran goes against the VA. That’s why you that have much knowledge, insight, and the good and sound knowing of how the VA works internally, we should always do our best in helping others to succeed for a WIN. Not to make it too confusing, but A WIN is a WIN in my book. Carry the fuck on.

  11. A dumb fuck to ANutterVet, “wtf, you think cuz u love science, numbers, that things should be in some sort of workable order?”

    Nutter, “fucking aye, anything is bullshit. VA needs to check their history, looking and feeling a gloomy and sore on this end. fucking whole house needs a knock-down and kill “solution of cides” (no misspelling).

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