Resort exec criticizes officials over Legionnaires notices

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Monday, Aug. 13, 2001 | 10:29 a.m.

The chief executive of Polo Towers said today he was furious with the tactics of the Clark County Health District in handling reports of Legionnaires' disease in three people who stayed at the condominium resort.

The Health District sent workers to Polo Towers Saturday to distribute fliers warning guests about the disease and telling them not to use the faucets or showers in their rooms.

"They created pandemonium for our guests and for our employees," Polo Towers executive Stephen Cloobeck said of the Health District employees who showed up Saturday. "What they did was overreaching, egregious and destructive."

Cloobeck said he contacted Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny, who chairs the Health District board, to express his "serious concerns" about how the incident was handled.

Health officials confirmed that three guests were diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, which usually is transmitted through a contaminated water source and causes flulike symptoms. The cases were confirmed in February, March and May of this year.

Traces of the legionnella bacteria were found in water sources at the Polo Towers, but that is not unusual, Health District spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said. The bacteria doesn't always cause illness, she said.

The Health District has statutory authority and a responsibility to inform the public when such outbreaks surface, Sizemore said. Polo Towers executives were told earlier in the week to distribute fliers to guests and employees, but didn't do so, she said.

"In a situation like this, we need to get the word out right away," Sizemore said. "This isn't something you want to wait on."

Cloobeck said three towers on the property all have separate operating systems and that he voluntarily shut down the system for the second tower, where the bacteria was found. About 250 guests were relocated, and the other two towers are at full occupancy, Cloobeck said.

Legionnaires' disease, which is usually treatable with antibiotics, can cause muscle aches, high fever and vomiting. Older adults are particularly vulnerable, as are people with compromised immune systems, diabetes or lung disease.

The disease is named for an outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976.