Showing posts with label Legionnaires Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legionnaires Disease. Show all posts

Friday, October 12, 2018

Veterans in other news on October 12, 2018

Disabled Army veteran rescues flag being run over by cars

KXXV News
By Holly Stouffer, Reporter
October 11, 2018
TEMPLE, TX (KXXV) - Chris Ellenburg was driving home from work on FM 1237 Monday afternoon when something in the road caught his eye. "I honestly could not believe it," Ellenburg said. "I figured it was normal trash, but as soon as I saw the flag open up as it flipped over into my lane, I knew." Ellenburg was heated. He immediately pulled over and hopped out of his truck to rescue the tattered flag that was being run over by other drivers.

"You're dang right I stopped traffic," Ellenburg said. "And there were still disrespectful people driving by as I had this flag, picking it up off the ground in the middle of a freaking road." He said some drivers even honked at him to get out of the way. As a disabled Army veteran, Ellenburg was trained to leave no man behind. He sees his fellow soldiers each time he looks at the flag. read more here

Veteran's family fights to bring long lost sister from Vietnam to NC

WECT news October 12, 2018 WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - In the wake of Hurricane Florence, a lot of us know what it’s like to feel displaced.
Anne Puangprasert, Wayne Lipford and Kumaune (WECT)
Anne Puangprasert has known that feeling her whole life, having overcome abuse, loss, and even a falsified death. Anne is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran who moved to Wilmington after the war, and her family is now trying desperately to bring her home. Pete Lipford met his sister Anne for the first time last year. He is 45. She is 48. Pete knew he had a sister, but thought, as did his father, Wayne, that she had died decades ago. read more here

Army nurse recounts her service in Vietnam, impact on her life

Jennifer Horbelt, Mike Spissinger
WPSD Local 6 news
October 11, 2018

PADUCAH — The Wall That Heals is coming to Paducah from Oct. 25 to 28. There are more than 58,000 names on this traveling replica Vietnam Memorial. They are the men and women who never came home.


Marj Graves stands at the nurse’s station in the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh during her tenure in Vietnam.
Those who did very likely were cared for by army nurses like Marj Graves. When the chance to help soldiers in Vietnam presented itself, she didn’t hesitate to go, but she saw and experienced things that cut deep and nearly took her life. She has spent decades learning to care for herself as much as she cares for others. “We may not have carried a gun, we may not have been on the front lines of combat, but some of the things that we saw and that we experienced were horrific. Horrific,” Marj said. From the time Marj was old enough to play with dolls, she knew she wanted to be a nurse. “I never wanted to be anything else but a nurse,” Marj said. read more here

Son of dead Quincy veteran attacks Rauner in new Pritzker ad



WGN 9 News
BY TAHMAN BRADLEY
Octobr 11, 2018
CHICAGO — Hours before the final gubernatorial debate in Quincy, the J.B. Pritzker campaign launched a blistering new attack ad featuring the son of a veteran who died after contracting Legionnaire’s disease at the Illinois Veterans Home. Eugene Miller is one of 14 residents of the Quincy home to die during the Legionnaires’ outbreaks since 2015. His son, Tim Miller, appeared in the television commercial titled “Heroes.”

“Gov. Rauner was more interested in protecting his image than he was the heroes who protected our country,” Tim Miller says to the camera. As Miller describes visiting his dying father in the hospital, the spot cuts to a graphic on screen that reads, “For six days the state of Illinois knew of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak and said nothing.” read more here

Widow of Army veteran receives home makeover thanks to Home Depot and HomeStrong USA

Fontana Herald News
October 11, 2018
The widow of a U.S. Army veteran received a very special home makeover in Bloomington on Oct. 4. The Home Depot Foundation partnered with HomeStrong USA to transform the home of Maria Rowe, the widow of George Rowe, who served more than nine years in the Vietnam War.

Originally tasked with renovating the Rowes' bathroom, the Home Depot Foundation increased its support to cover renovations needed throughout the home after Maria Rowe unexpectedly lost her husband last year. More than 90 members of Team Depot, the Home Depot's associate-led volunteer force, completed the work on their day off. read more here

Family reunited with missing soldier's remains, visits lab that identified him

KETV News
Sarah Fili
October 11, 2018

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. — An American hero is home. Army Sgt. Melvin Anderson was killed in World War II and was listed as "missing in action. His remains were recently identified in Nebraska. Thursday, his family got to see the lab that reunited them. “He’s just been a part of our family. And even though he’s been missing for that long we've always had hope we would find him,” Maureen Herzberg, Anderson's niece, said. Anderson died fighting in Germany in 1944. He was buried in an American cemetery overseas but was never identified. That changed when his skeleton was exhumed and sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory at Offutt. read more here

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Family of Veteran Wins Lawsuit Against Nevada State VA Nursing Home

State will pay $750,000 to family of veteran who died after legionella found in nursing home's water 
The Nevada Independent
Michelle Rindels
September 13, 2017

Gov. Brian Sandoval apologized to the family of an 88-year-old man who died at the Nevada State Veterans Home in 2015 after legionella bacteria was found in the water, then voted Tuesday to approve a $750,000 payout to his survivors.

The settlement with World War II veteran Charles Demos’ five children comes after the family sued the state on a litany of grounds, alleging negligence, wrongful death, elder abuse, infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, training and supervision and breach of contract. A court denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case, and officials with the Nevada attorney general’s office said lawsuit costs could have spiraled to $2.5 million absent a settlement.
“I feel horrible that this has happened,” Sandoval said at a Board of Examiners meeting where the settlement was approved. “It’s a tragedy. This is a gentleman who served our country with distinction … I think this is a fair settlement and I just want to make sure that it was clear on the record that they have my apology.”
Demos, who would have turned 91 on Monday, was a member of the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps and had a decades-long legal career in Florida before retiring in 2010. After moving to the veterans’ home in Boulder City, he served two terms as president of residents at the nursing home and enjoyed playing chess and talking politics.
read more here


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Legionnaires Bacteria Found At Minneapolis VA

Minneapolis VA taking steps to clean water system of Legionnaires disease bacteria
Star Tribune
By Josephine Marcotty
NOVEMBER 27, 2015
No human illnesses have been discovered.
JIM MONE – ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP
Minneapolis VA officials said routine testing on Nov. 19 found the type of Legionella bacteria that causes most human illness.
The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ Disease have been detected in water samples at the Minneapolis Veterans Medical Center, and officials said they are taking steps to eliminate the pathogen.

No illnesses have been discovered.

VA officials said routine testing on Nov. 19 found the type of Legionella bacteria that cause most human illness in 5 out of 40 samples from the hospital’s water system. The hospital has since installed filters on taps and shower heads and is flushing the water system to eliminate the bacteria.

First identified in 1976 after an outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia, the Legionella bacterium causes 8,000 to 18,000 hospitalizations a year in the United States. Prompt treatment with antibiotics typically cures the infection.
read more here
Linked from Military.com

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Illinois Veterans Home Deaths Climbs to 7 With At Least 39 Sickened

7 Dead From Legionnaires' Disease at Quincy Veterans Home
NBC 5 News
By Alan Scher Zagier
September 2, 2015

The death toll from a Legionnaires' disease outbreak at a western Illinois veterans home climbed to seven Tuesday, with the state's public health director suggesting more fatalities are likely.

Officials with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and the state Department of Public Health said that each of the victims at the 129-year-old Quincy facility had underlying medical conditions, with an average age of 86.

Thirty-nine residents have been sickened so far, and test results for others remain pending. The outbreak was first identified late last week; its source remains undetermined.

"Unfortunately, we expect to see additional cases and possibly additional deaths because the incubation period for Legionnaires' disease can be up to two weeks," said Dr. Nirav Shah, Illinois' public health director.
read more here

Friday, October 3, 2014

Lawmakers want answers after 6 veterans died at Pittsburgh VA

Lawmakers demand answers on Legionnaires' outbreak from new VA secretary
TribLive News
Mike Wereschagin
October 2, 2014
At least six veterans died and at least 16 others were sickened during the outbreak.
Tribune-Review
Six congressional Republicans are asking the secretary of Veterans Affairs to intervene personally in their attempt to find out who was disciplined over a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at VA Pittsburgh.

Six congressional Republicans are asking the secretary of Veterans Affairs to intervene personally in their attempt to find out who was disciplined over a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak at VA Pittsburgh.

“The lack of responsiveness and bureaucratic stonewalling is unacceptable, and we believe this now deserves your immediate and personal attention,” states the letter dated Oct. 1 to Secretary Robert McDonald. Three Western Pennsylvania House members, two committee chairs and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Lehigh County signed the letter.

Members of Congress have repeatedly asked for details about discipline in the nearly two years since VA officials disclosed the outbreak.
read more here