Prison medical facility knew about Legionella contaminated water months before employee's death

Bacteria was detected in one of the prison's cooling towers


Three months prior to the death of the medical director at State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh, Legionella bacteria was detected in the cooling tower that served the prison facility, according to an article on the Becker's Infection Control and Clinical Quality website.

Employees weren't notified about the contamination issue until a month later.

Documents from three months before the director's death indicate that samples from the No. 1 water cooling tower, which served the prison's medical department, tested positive for 430 colony forming units per milliliter of Legionella bacteria. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration advises any cooling tower water with a concentration of 100 cfu/ml or more undergo a cleaning and biocide treatment.

Read the article.

 

 



December 5, 2016


Topic Area: Infection Control


Recent Posts

UF Health Hospitals Rely on Green Globes to Realize Their Full Potential

Case study: The process encouraged the team to push themselves in several areas.


How Healthcare Facilities Can Be Truly Disaster-Resilient

Real resilience looks different than what’s written down in plans


TriasMD Breaks Ground on DISC Surgery Center for San Fernando Valley

It is set to open in Q3 2025


Bigfork Valley Hospital Falls Victim to Data Breach

The incident occurred in November 2024


AI-Driven Facilities: Strategic Planning and Cost Management 

6 factors to ensure infrastructure, operations and financial management support AI’s integration


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.