Mold suspected at Vista West building

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Mold suspected at Vista West building

County awaits air-quality analysis

September 17, 2008

Waukegan News Sun - Waukegan,IL*

By JUDY MASTERSON

JMASTERSON@...

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1167600,5_1_WA17_VIST

AIR_S1.article

WAUKEGAN -- Mold may be the cause of troubling respiratory symptoms

reported by Lake County Health Department employees who are working

at Vista Medical Center West.

Air quality is still under study at the former St. Therese Medical

Center physician's office building at 2615 Washington St,, where 110

Health Department employees were moved earlier this summer.

The department is leasing the first three floors of the office

building from Vista Health System pending construction of a new

building at the Health Department's Grand Avenue complex.

" Based on what some staff have experienced, we expect there may be

findings of the presence of mold, but we're waiting for (a report

from) our environmental consultants, " said Piotrowski, Health

Department spokeswoman.

After a briefing on preliminary results of tests commissioned by

Vista, the Health Department notified employees on the second floor

of the building not to come to work on Friday and Monday to guard

against potential health risks. The department is relocating those

staffers to the sixth floor of the main hospital building at Vista

West.

" Lake County is in the process of reviewing the test results with

its environmental consultants, and the county will take any

necessary action to ensure the safety of our employees, " Piotrowski

said in a statement Tuesday.

Additional test results will help determine whether the department

needs to relocate staff from the first and third floors of the

office building.

About 24 mental health/case management workers housed on the second

floor of the building since July have reported allergy- and asthma-

type symptoms.

According to one source who requested anonymity, workers seeking

medical care have been told that their symptoms indicate exposure to

the fungi penicillium and aspergillus.

Found in carpet, wallpaper and in organic substances inside

fiberglass duct insulation, penicillium is one of the first fungi to

grow after water damage. It can cause allergic reactions and lung

complications, including bronchial spasms, sarcoidosis and fibrosis.

Some staffers who are allergic to penicillin have developed boils,

said the source, and some are calling in sick.

" It's pretty significant, " the caller said. " There's a lot of sick

people over there. "

" We don't know of any people who are home sick, " Piotrowski

said. " Some have temporarily relocated to other Health Department

locations until they can be moved to the sixth floor of the

hospital. "

Maintenance and information technology staff who are moving the case

management and outpatient mental health offices from the office

building to the hospital have been instructed to wear masks,

Piotrowski said.

The former physicians office building stood vacant for four years

after Waukegan's two hospitals -- St. Therese Medical Center and

Victory Memorial Hospital -- were merged in 2003.

Vista Health did not return a call inquiring about maintenance on

the building before leasing it this spring to the Health Department,

which signed a two-year lease at $362,280 per year.

Respiratory complaints from workers in the building, which is

connected via enclosed walkways to the parking garage and the

hospital, increased as the weather grew hot and humid.

" The safety of employees and clients remains the Health Department's

top priority, " Piotrowski said. " We will communicate with employees

as information becomes available. We are also committed to serving

our clients and will continue to provide these critical services

once a new location is established. "