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When a patient is discharged, the room is cleaned and prepared for the next occupant. When a maintenance issue is repaired, the work order is closed. When a positive Legionella sample is remediated, many organizations assume the problem has been solved. Unfortunately, water systems do not always work that way. In many healthcare facilities, the plumbing system remembers. Not because pipes can think, but because biofilm, scale, sediment, corrosion, and stagnant water create co

Healthcare facilities spend millions of dollars each year on advanced technology designed to improve patient outcomes. Sophisticated air handling systems. UV disinfection devices. Electronic surveillance software. Water treatment systems. Automated dispensing cabinets. Artificial intelligence tools. These technologies are valuable and often necessary. But there is a surprising reality that infection prevention professionals understand better than most: The most important infe

This week alone, two separate chemical tank failures made headlines. One occurred in Garden Grove and another in Washington. Different facilities. Different systems. Different circumstances. But they all point to the same reality: Accidents and incidents happen. Equipment fails. Tanks rupture. Pumps stop working. Sensors malfunction. Human error occurs. Aging infrastructure deteriorates. Even well-managed facilities can experience unexpected problems. The question is not whet

When people think about Legionella risk in large facilities, they often think first about cooling towers or incoming city water. Those are important, but they are only part of the story. In many buildings, the bigger issue is not simply what enters the facility. It is what happens after the water gets inside. A facility water system is not a straight pipe from the city main to the faucet. It is a complex network of hot water loops, cold water lines, storage tanks, recirculati