Maloney Calls on CDC for Assistance to VA Health Care Facilities to Prevent Legionnaires’ Disease

Newburgh, NY -  With soaring temperatures and over a dozen confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ diseases in the Hudson Valley, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide assistance to health care facilities on best practices for preventing and addressing cases of Legionnaires’ disease in New York and the Hudson Valley region.  Some of the most common sources of Legionnaires’ disease are water systems in hotels or hospitals, although most facilities have water treatment equipment to kill Legionella bacteria.

"As the son of a veteran, I believe deeply that every veteran deserves the very best care our country has to offer, and by equipping our facilities with access to CDC resources, best practices, and guidelines, we can significantly reduce the likelihood of future infections and deaths from this terrible disease,” said Representative Sean Patrick Maloney.

After seeking the advice of the NY-18 Veterans Advisory Board, Rep. Maloney also announced support for legislation which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report cases of infectious diseases within 24 hours to the appropriate local and state agencies. Specifically, the legislation would require reporting the Director of the Veterans Integrated Service Network to notify within 24 hours: the Centers for Disease Control, the State and/or County Health Department, the Veterans Administration, the patient’s primary care provider, the impacted patient and next of kin, and all employees at the affected VA Health System.

“With no current reporting framework in place, this legislation would create a commonsense standard for VA hospitals to gather and share life-saving information with patients, employees, the CDC and local health departments,” concluded Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.

In addition, Rep. Maloney wrote to General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, expressing concern over the recent death of a Poughkeepsie veteran and the presence of the potentially fatal bacteria at the Castle Point facility of the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System.

In his letter, Rep. Maloney wrote, “It is critical to ensure this sort of contamination is prevented from happening in the future. Although the VA Inspector General has conducted multiple independent oversight reviews and investigations into the issue, I am writing to request further clarification on steps the Department of Veterans Affairs can take to ensure that this never happens again in any VA facility across the country.”