How Does Poor Water Management Lead to Sick Hospitals?

Water poses one of the biggest risks to patients in healthcare facilities. Even a small amount of contamination can lead to infection, illness, or even death. It’s up to hospital leadership to develop systems and invest in technology that protects their patients, staff, and brand reputation.

To effectively safeguard your healthcare facility, it’s important to first understand the unique risks that water brings to hospitals, the critical steps you should take to protect your facility, and the ways you can make water management both safer and easier.

How hospital water systems can increase the risk of infections

There are several risks associated with water systems in hospitals. Although many bacterial contaminants won’t cause infection in most healthy individuals, for those who are sick or immunocompromised within a healthcare facility, the risk becomes far greater. 

Waterborne infections can arise from:

• Proximal contamination (central pipes). Pathogens like Legionella can colonize in the deeper infrastructure of water systems and at the outlets.

• Distal contamination (points of use). Gram-negative bacteria and molds can grow and adhere to biofilms at or near points of use.

• Hospital water contamination. This usually occurs within the infrastructure of the healthcare facility, rather than from municipal sources. According to the International Society for Infectious Diseases, “Colonization in more than 30% of hospital water has been associated with cases of Legionnaire’s disease. Hospital water contaminated by Legionella could be long-lasting.”

Waterborne pathogens can transmit in the following ways:

• Direct aerosol transmission. Think of a shower, humidifier, cooling tower, aspiration at drinking fountains, or other areas where water particles may be expelled.

• Indirect transmission. This can occur from objects that were in contact with contaminated water, such as bath supplies or linens.

• Inappropriate use of nonsterile water. This can be a risk if staff members are not trained well, communication is lacking, or systems are outdated.

• Exposure of implanted devices to water. This includes things like bathing with an IV improperly covered.

• Transmission via the hands of healthcare personnel. This may occur as a result of improper hand hygiene, hand washing with contaminated water, or splashback from contaminated sink drains.

Healthcare teams must be incredibly diligent about their water-monitoring systems, employee training, processes, and more.

Necessary steps to protect your water system

In a hospital environment, water risks are truly everywhere. But that’s no cause for panic.

Let’s look at some of the simple steps that all hospitals use to protect their water systems — and then explore how to make those steps even easier.

• Faucet and sink design. Hospitals should design sinks for minimal splashback, good drainage, and unobstructed flow. For example, be sure faucets do not discharge directly above the drain, which can cause splashing. The sink in patient care areas should have an adequate depth with maximum water flow allowed.

• Water temperature control. Water temperature must be tightly controlled within hospitals for sterilization, safety, and other considerations.

• Pipe design. Pipes should avoid dead legs or low-flow fixtures that may breed bacteria.

• Cleaning procedures. Drains, faucets, handles, and other surfaces should be regularly cleaned and disinfected to keep bacteria and other contaminants from entering the water system. Be sure not to discard any patient waste in sinks.

• Personal items. Avoid placement of patient care items or personal items next to sinks.

• Toilet sanitization. Install hopper and toilet covers.

There are a number of precautions and preventive measures hospital personnel can take to protect patients and staff from waterborne contaminations, but the primary factor that can help manage water safety is a smart system that can do most of this work for you.

Solutions to make water management easier and safer

Maintaining a safe and efficient water system in a healthcare facility is non-negotiable. With the assistance of innovative technology, hospital teams can implement smart, automated, and centralized digital systems that monitor water safety in real time.

With artificial intelligence (AI)-powered and cloud-based technology, healthcare leaders can exert tighter control of water monitoring and ensure that risks are identified long before they become major problems. This type of predictive maintenance can reduce costs by up to 30% and help protect life safety in your facility.

Smart systems provide:

• Early-stage growth detection with a biofilm monitor

• Monitoring for chemical effectiveness according to your protocols

• Regulatory documentation portals accessible from anywhere

• Optimized controls for a better standard of care

• Immediate identification of water quality fluctuations and smart resolution strategies

• Automatic measurement against targets

• Predictive analytics to reduce equipment malfunctions and downtime

These solutions are built to improve life safety, reduce risk, and lessen the burden on hospital administrators. To learn more about how smart, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-based technology can transform your hospital’s water management, visit Aquanomix.com.