It cost thousands of dollars to address Legionnaires’ disease at the LaSalle Veterans' Home.
Last fall, there were more than a dozen cases of respiratory illness at the facility. Of those tested, one case was positive for Legionnaires' disease. The 97-year-old resident had multiple underlying issues.
A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs says it cost $35,000 to replace shower heads and install a bypass valve to allow thermal disinfection of the cold water line.
The home also increased the flushing of its water system.
The spokesman says there have been no other cases since last year.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated there were more than a dozen cases of the respiratory illness. There were several cases of respiratory illness, but only one case of Legionnaires' disease at the LaSalle facility.