Protecting Patients and Medical Staff from Healthcare-Associated Mold Outbreaks in Puerto Rico

Many patients treated in hospitals or staying in long-term care facilities have conditions that make them much more susceptible to infections due to microbial pathogens, including mold.
 
Over the past last several years, a number of hospitals across the United States have had to temporarily close portions of their facilities due to the discovery of mold growth. In a high profile case in Washington, a number of patients even lost their lives due to infections caused by a common mold known as Aspergillus.
 
Tragically, many healthcare-associated mold outbreaks could have been prevented if the mold growth had been found and properly remediated. To help avoid these types of incidents, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides precautions that healthcare facilities should take to prevent patients from getting sick from indoor mold. They include:

• Filtering the air
• Giving some patients with weakened immune systems antifungal medicine to prevent mold infections
• Placing some patients in rooms where the air flow reduces the chances of the patient getting an infection
• Fixing water leaks and repairing damages as fast as possible
• Reducing dust during construction
• Tracking the number of patients with mold infections to monitor for an increase, which could signal a problem with indoor mold

“It’s important to realize that mold will grow almost anywhere indoors if there is sufficient moisture and a food source,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “Unfortunately, most building materials and furnishing are a food source for mold. In an indoor environment with people who have suppressed or weakened immune systems, which is commonly the case in healthcare settings, the presence of mold can lead to serious health issues. In addition to infection concerns, simply inhaling elevated levels of mold can cause respiratory irritation, allergies and even trigger an asthma attack in some asthmatics.”
 
Dedicated to helping hospitals and healthcare providers in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean identify indoor mold growth are the industrial hygiene and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) professionals at Zimmetry Environmental. They offer comprehensive building inspections, testing, monitoring and consulting services. Zimmetry even recently sponsored an educational video about healthcare-associated mold outbreaks that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/4PG-PkrgenM
 
To learn more about Zimmetry and their indoor environmental quality (IEQ), infection control, and compliance testing and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

Contact via E-mail