A preliminary report on ending the Legionnaires' disease crisis at the Quincy veterans home recommends building a state-of-the-art facility and other improvements costing up to $278 million.
The report compiled by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs concludes that the best option for dealing with Legionnaires' at the home in western Illinois would be new construction, replacement plumbing and a new water source. A final report is due in May.
Legionnaires' has contributed to the deaths of 13 residents since 2015 and sickened dozens. It is carried by bacteria in water which is inhaled from water vapor.
A new residential building would cost up to $250 million. The report recommends campus-wide plumbing replacement for about $16 million, drilling a well and buying a nearby nursing home for about $12 million.
