Legionella Prevention in Hospitals & Healthcare
Legionella Planning, Testing, Remediation & Treatment in Healthcare
IWC Innovations provides healthcare and senior living facilities, including hospitals, urgent care clinics, assisted-living/skilled-nursing, senior housing, and independent living facilities, with support in 3 key areas to prevent Legionella and other waterborne pathogens. Those areas include:
- Development of a water management plan (WMP): Hospitals and healthcare facilities must be compliant with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and The Joint Commission (TJC) regulations and are required to implement a WMP.
- Legionella & Waterborne Pathogen Testing: Our testing plan is tailored to the needs of your healthcare facility, ensuring you stay up to date with any compliance mandates.
- Legionella Remediation & Treatment: If you ever have an emergency outbreak, call us immediately at (866) 761-1600. We’re available 24 hours a day to help you avoid liabilities and further exposure.
We support all healthcare facilities with plans, testing/prevention, as well as remediation, including the following:
Legionella Prevention in Senior Living Facilities
America's Most At-Risk Setting for Legionnaires' Disease
Senior living facilities have populations that are extremely vulnerable to Legionnaires’ Disease, which can result from coming into contact with Legionella bacteria. At IWC Innovations, we provide a full turnkey approach to Legionella prevention at all senior living centers, including:
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Assisted living
- Independent living
- Senior housing
We can provide a water management plan to help you figure out the maze of regulatory requirements and mandates, or Legionella testing options, so we can best protect you proactively, or work with you closely should a case of Legionnaires’ disease be identified at your facility. With our 60+ combined years of Legionella expertise, including our chief science officer, who sits on the board that writes the rules for ASHRAE, IWC Innovations is the best choice for all of your Legionella prevention and remediation needs.
Legionella Prevention in Hospitals & Urgent Care Clinics
Know your Legionella Risk and How to Mitigate it
The Legionella experts at IWC Innovations can do a comprehensive site visit to your hospital or urgent care clinic to help assess your Legionella risk and create a water management and Legionella prevention program and recommendations for maximum Legionella protection. Aside from satisfying the CDC and CMS regulatory and compliance aspects of legionella prevention and detection, IWC Innovations can offer an approach that gives you maximum protection with business intelligence around all key performance metrics. And of course, if you should experience a Legionella outbreak, call us immediately at (866) 761-1600.
IWC Innovations is the leader in providing innovative solutions for your potable and non-potable water systems. We have a strong foundation and unparalleled expertise in Legionella risk mitigation, focusing on detection, investigation, prevention, and remediation.
Legionella Services for Hospital Systems & Healthcare Facilities
Legionella prevention, testing, and remediation in healthcare and senior living facilities require specialized strategies due to high-risk populations, complex water systems, and stringent regulatory requirements. (Read more about How to Manage Legionella in Healthcare Facilities in our recent blog.) Below is a structured overview of key factors and considerations:
Legionella Prevention and Detection
1. Water Management Plans & Regulatory Mandates: CMS requires healthcare facilities to adopt water management programs aligned with ASHRAE Standard 188 and CDC guidelines, including risk assessments, monitoring, and corrective actions.
2. Consulting Services: Our experts will help you design compliant plans, identify risks (e.g., stagnant water, dead legs), and integrate engineering controls.
3. Water Testing & Routine Monitoring: We help you test potable water systems on a regular basis, focusing on high-risk areas like transplant units. We also provide advanced methods such as PCR testing and culture-based sampling enable rapid detection.
Legionella Protection
1. Point-of-Use Filtration: Shower/Sink Filters: We’ll help you install disposable filters that block Legionella at taps, showers, and ice machines.
2. Ice Machine Filters: We’ll also install filters in ice machines to prevent bacterial colonization in warm, moist environments, reducing aerosolization risks.
3. Point-of-Entry Systems: We’ll also provide water filtration at the point of entry to your facility, including microfiltration/UV filters to remove bacteria.
Legionella Remediation & Treatment
1. Secondary Disinfection: We’ll use chemical shock treatments: Chlorine or monochloramine to eliminate biofilm-resident bacteria or UV systems to provide continuous disinfection without altering water chemistry.
2. Post-Remediation Steps: We’ll confirm eradication and monitor for rebound.
3. System Upgrades: We’ll address stagnation or outdated infrastructure.
4. Recurrence Prevention/Ongoing Training: We’ll provide staff education on water system maintenance and outbreak response.
5. Consulting Partnerships: At IWC, we provide continuous risk assessments and plan updates to adapt to new threats.
Legionella Water Treatment: Hospital Cooling Towers, Steam Boilers, and Closed Loops
IWC Innovations employs a comprehensive, healthcare-focused strategy to prevent Legionella in critical water systems like cooling towers, steam boilers, and closed loops. For cooling towers, we implement ASHRAE Standard 188-aligned protocols, including routine Legionella testing, biofilm removal, and targeted disinfection with biocides or UV systems to neutralize aerosolized bacteria risks. Our steam boiler treatments prioritize corrosion inhibition and scale prevention while maintaining thermal efficiency, ensuring compliance with CMS mandates for healthcare facilities.
Closed-loop systems receive specialized attention to combat stagnation and bacterial overgrowth through advanced chemical treatments and real-time monitoring, preventing cross-contamination into potable water supplies. Our healthcare-specific approach includes:
- Preventive maintenance: Quarterly inspections, microbial load assessments, and automated dosing systems for continuous disinfection.
- Emergency remediation: Rapid shock chlorination or monochloramine treatments during outbreaks, validated by post-treatment PCR testing.
- Regulatory compliance: Documentation aligned with The Joint Commission standards and state-specific requirements
Healthcare Facilities That Have Regulatory Compliance Mandates
| Facility Type | WMP & Legionella Testing Required by Regulation |
|---|---|
| Hospitals | Yes |
| Urgent Care Clinics | Yes |
| Senior/Assisted Living Facilities | Yes |
| Independent Living | Yes |
| Senior Housing | Yes |
| Skilled Nursing Facilities | Yes |
