UPDATED: As COVID Death Toll Rises to 32, State Fires LaSalle Veterans' Home Administrator
The state fired the Director of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home after 32 veterans have died in a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.
The Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs has fired the director of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home as the home announced the 32nd veteran resident of the facility has died in a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the facility.
Home Administrator Angela Mehlbrech was terminated by IDVA Director Linda Chapa LaVia. The state also announced the Director of Nursing at the home has been placed on administrative leave pending the ongoing investigation.
The Acting Assistant Director of IDVA, Anthony Vaughn, will serve as the interim Administrator.
The facility announced this weekend a 32nd veteran had died in the state-owned and operated home, which had a population of around 120 before the outbreak struck in early November.
Governor Pritzker addressed the action at his news conference Monday. We will update this story with his comments.
UPDATE (3:27 P.M.):
Pritzker discussed the firing at his daily COVID-19 news conference Monday in Chicago:
“Earlier today, our Department of Veterans’ Affairs announced that IDVA Assistant Director Anthony Vaughn will be taking over as the interim LaSalle Home Administrator, effective immediately. The independent investigation into the actions of leadership and staff will continue, as will our work with the federal Veterans Administration experts to ensure that all of our Veterans’ Homes are fully in compliance with all required health and safety measures. We will do everything possible to safeguard the lives of our heroes. Let us make no mistake, these tragic losses serve as a stark and painful example of what happens when community spread is rampant. “
Asked if the firing was an acknowledgment of a failure of the administration of the home, Pritzker was reluctant to assign blame:
“You know, there’s an investigation that’s still ongoing. We need to make sure we know exactly what happened. What I know is that our job right now is to make sure that we do everything to protect the people who are at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home. We’ve been trying to do that all along. This is another step to make sure. Since the moment that we found out there was an outbreak, there’s been a lot of effort that’s been made to evaluate the problems at the home and to mitigate those problems. This is another way for us to keep the people in that home safe.”
The Illinoize again submitted a question for the news conference on the online portal used for remote submissions. The staff who choose and ask the questions of the Governor declined to ask our question about LaSalle. We have submitted at least one question about the outbreak and deaths everyday since before Thanksgiving, and each of our questions has been ignored.