“The safety and wellbeing of patients, visitors and staff is our top priority at Spectrum Health,” Spectrum Health Pennock President Angie Ditmar said Friday. “When we learned of possible water contamination, testing was conducted and the presence of Legionella bacteria was confirmed.
At this time, there has not been a confirmed case of a patient contracting Legionnaires’ disease in the hospital,” she said.
Generally, exposure to Legionnaires’ disease occurs when people breathe in small droplets of water that contain the bacteria. “Quick action is being taken to limit exposure and eliminate the contamination. We will install water filters in patient rooms. Notices have been posted throughout the hospital, and patients and staff are being informed,” she said.
Ditmar said she’s proud of the way the Spectrum Health Pennock team responded to the situation. “We found out about the possible contamination on Dec. 26 and everybody came together for a rapid turnaround.” Bottled water was delivered within hours, water outlets are being sealed off and filters installed. Those filters are guaranteed for 60 days, which will be a bridge to a new filtration system.
“We were really fortunate to find a vendor in Howell who responded during the Christmas week and is now installing a new filtration system,” she said.
Spectrum Health Pennock is working closely with the Barry-Eaton District Health Department and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and implementing guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A hotline is available at 844.689.2875 or 616.391.9986. Updates can be found at https://newsroom.
