Reducing the Risk of Healthcare Associated Infections from Legionella and Other Waterborne Pathogens Using a Water Management for Construction (WMC) Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) Tool
Affiliation
Department of Community, Environment and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2022Keywords
constructionhealthcare associated infections
infection control
Legionella
risk assessment
water management
water safety plan
waterborne pathogen
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
MDPICitation
Scanlon, M. M., Gordon, J. L., Tonozzi, A. A., & Griffin, S. C. (2022). Reducing the Risk of Healthcare Associated Infections from Legionella and Other Waterborne Pathogens Using a Water Management for Construction (WMC) Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) Tool. Infectious Disease Reports, 14(3), 341–361.Journal
Infectious Disease ReportsRights
Copyright © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Construction activities in healthcare settings potentially expose building occupants to waterborne pathogens including Legionella and have been associated with morbidity and mortality. A Water Management for Construction—Infection Control Risk Assessment (WMC-ICRA) tool was developed addressing gaps in building water management programs. This enables healthcare organizations to meet the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188 referenced in numerous guidelines and regulations. A WMC-ICRA was modeled after the ICRA required for prevention and control of airborne pathogens to reduce the risk of healthcare associated infections. The tool allows users to evaluate risk from waterborne pathogen exposure by analyzing construction activities by project category and building occupant risk group. The users then select an appropriate level of risk mitigation measures. Technical aspects (e.g., water age/stagnation, flushing, filtration, disinfection, validation testing), are presented to assist with implementation. An exemplar WMC-ICRA tool is presented as ready for implementation by infection prevention and allied professionals, addressing current gaps in water management, morbidity/mortality risk, and regulatory compliance. To reduce exposure to waterborne pathogens in healthcare settings and improve regulatory compliance, organizations should examine the WMC-ICRA tool, customize it for organization-specific needs, while formulating an organizational policy to implement during all construction activities. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Note
Open access journalISSN
2036-7449Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3390/idr14030039
Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).