Terry Prince, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s designee as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, discusses changes in administration, communication, policies and infection control that he and others at the agency are implementing in response to a COVID-19 outbreak last fall at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. (AP Photo/John O’Connor)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) Consistent statewide procedures and ongoing drills that target infection response and other emergencies will be routine at Illinois veterans’ homes after COVID-19 caught the LaSalle Veterans’ Home unprepared and claimed 36 lives last fall, the state’s newly appointed director said.
Terry Prince, a 31-year Navy veteran and former senior adviser to the U.S. Surgeon General, has issued a six-point plan for improving readiness at the state’s veterans’ homes in Anna, Manteno, Quincy and LaSalle. The plan follows a blistering investigative report that laid out a string of miscommunications, lax policy and missed
Is it me or does Anthony Kolbeck look like a sacrificial lamb. I feel sorry for the guy, seemed like he wanted to, tried to do the right thing but was in over his head and had no support from the top. I’ve seen this happen time and time again but please tell me if I’m misinterpreting things.
Chapa LaVia’s pension should be revoked. At minimum, taxpayers should NOT pay the higher level that she likely expects for holding a higher paying job she never took seriously. All of this is unforgivable.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Apr 30, 21 @ 9:53 am:
Report: LaSalle virus crisis response reactive and chaotic
JOHN O CONNOR, AP Political Writer
April 30, 2021
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1of3Terry Prince, Gov. J.B. Pritzker s designee as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, discusses changes in administration, communication, policies and infection control that he and others at the agency are implementing in response to a COVID-19 outbreak last fall at the LaSalle Veterans Home.John O Connor/APShow MoreShow Less
2of3Terry Prince, Gov. J.B. Pritzker s designee as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, discusses changes in administration, communication, policies and infection control that he and others at the agency are implementing in response to a COVID-19 outbreak last fall at the LaSalle Veterans Home.John O Connor/APShow MoreShow Less
Organizational failures
The COVID outbreak at LaSalle, and smaller outbreaks at the IDVA’s homes in Manteno and Quincy, present a challenge to Pritzker. In 2018, he waged a campaign against former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner partially on the message that the venture capitalist-turned-politician failed in his handling of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Quincy facility in 2015, which killed 13 residents and sickened many more.
Within days of being sworn in, Pritzker requested a “complete review of the health, safety, and security process,” at the state’s four veterans’ homes via executive order. The resulting external audit made nearly two-dozen suggestions for improving health and safety at the facilities. But according to Friday’s report, many recommended fixes, including updating and standardizing infection control policies across the four homes, were never made.