Full Text of SR1186 100th General Assembly
SR1186 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Quincy Veterans' Home, founded in 1886, is the | 3 | | largest and oldest of the Illinois Veteran Homes; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The Quincy Home has approximately 400 residents | 5 | | and employs over 500 full-time staff; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Legionnaires' disease is a severe, often lethal, | 7 | | form of pneumonia caused by a bacterium found in both potable | 8 | | and nonpotable water systems; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In July 2015, the first cases of Legionnaires' | 10 | | disease were discovered at the Quincy Veterans' Home and would | 11 | | shortly claim the lives of twelve residents; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 2016, more than fifty residents and staff | 13 | | contracted Legionnaires' disease, leading to the death of | 14 | | another resident veteran; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control conducted a study | 16 | | of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans' | 17 | | Home in 2015 and had an extensive list of recommendations for | 18 | | the Home; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In 2016, the Quincy Veterans' Home followed the |
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| 1 | | recommendations of the CDC and completed renovations of parts | 2 | | of its plumbing system, which included the construction of a | 3 | | water treatment plant capable of providing higher quality | 4 | | water; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, In Fall 2017, an additional three residents | 6 | | contracted Legionnaires' disease after infrastructure updates | 7 | | were made; therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 9 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is | 10 | | directed to conduct a performance audit of the Illinois | 11 | | Department of Veterans' Affairs' management of Legionnaires' | 12 | | disease outbreaks; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That this performance audit include, but not be | 14 | | limited to, the following determinations: | 15 | | (1) The responses of the Department of Veterans' | 16 | | Affairs to the outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in 2015, | 17 | | 2016, and 2017, including the recommendations made in the | 18 | | 2015 study by the Centers for Disease Control and the | 19 | | Department's actions to address those recommendations; | 20 | | (2) The type, cost, and timing of any infrastructure or | 21 | | other building improvements intended to contain the | 22 | | further spread of Legionnaires' disease or prevent its | 23 | | reoccurrence; |
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| 1 | | (3) The nature of changes made by the Department in | 2 | | operating protocols and staff training thereon, intended | 3 | | to contain the further spread of Legionnaires' disease or | 4 | | prevent its reoccurrence;
| 5 | | (4) The nature and extent of monitoring conducted by | 6 | | the Department to determine whether the improvements and | 7 | | protocols put in place are effective to ensure the safety | 8 | | of residents and staff at the Quincy Veterans' Home; | 9 | | (5) The amount of State moneys received and the amount | 10 | | of state moneys expended by the Department or any other | 11 | | State agency during State fiscal years 2015, 2016, 2017, | 12 | | and 2018 for infrastructure improvements, monitoring, and | 13 | | other measures taken to address the Legionnaires' disease | 14 | | outbreaks; and | 15 | | (6) To the extent information is available, whether the | 16 | | Quincy Veterans' Home has been the subject of any reviews | 17 | | since 2015 to determine its compliance with applicable laws | 18 | | and regulations with regard to the care of its residents | 19 | | and, if so, the results of those reviews; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Veterans' | 21 | | Affairs and any other State agency or other entity or person | 22 | | that may have information relevant to this audit cooperate | 23 | | fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office in its | 24 | | audit; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as | 2 | | soon as practical and report its findings and recommendations | 3 | | upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section | 4 | | 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the Auditor General.
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