Mold remediation in a hospital

Abstract

As occupants in a hospital, patients are susceptible to air contaminants that can include biological agents dispersed throughout the premise. An exposed patient can become ill and require medical intervention. A consideration for patients is that they may have become environmentally sensitive and require placement in an environment that does not compromise their health. Unfortunately, the hospital environment often contains more biological substances than can be expected in an office or home environment. When a hospital also experiences water intrusion such as flooding or water leaks, resulting mold growth can seriously compromise the health of patients and others such as nursing staff and physicians (Burge, Indoor Air and Infectious Disease. Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews, 1980; Lutz et al., Clinical Infectious Diseases 37: 786-793, 2003). Micro-organism growth can propagate if the water is not addressed quickly and effectively. Immunocompromised patients are particularly at risk when subjected to fungal infection such that the US Center for Disease Control issued guideline for building mold in health care facilities (Centers for Disease and Control [CDC], Centers for Disease and Control: Questions and Answers on Stachybotrys chartarum and Other Molds, 2000). This paper is based on mold remediation of one portion of a hospital unit due to water from construction activity and inadequate maintenance, resulting in mold growth. A large proportion of the hospital staff, primarily nurses in the dialysis unit, exhibited health symptoms consistent with mold exposure. Unfortunately, the hospital administrators did not consider the mold risk to be serious and refused an independent consultant retained by the nurse's union to examine the premise (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC], Nurses file complaints over mold at Foothills. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2003). The nurse's union managed to have the premise examined by submitting a court order of detention and inspection and for an interlocutory injunction to allow their consultants to undertake air quality testing. Mold remediation procedures are readily available and are not to be discussed here (Silicato, http://www.nibs.org/BETEC/M6/ 13-Silicato_Mold-Remediation.pdf, 2004). However, the difficulty of determining the qualifications of consultants, contactors and project managers are discussed. It also describes the need and importance of a buffer zone between the occupied areas and the mold abatement containment area.

Indoor Air Problems in Hospitals

“…Occupational diseases from mold-related microbes is one of the most frequent categories documented for health care workers in the Finnish Registry of Occupational Diseases. Indoor air problems in hospital buildings have also been reported in other countries (Brownson, 1999(Brownson, , 2000Krajewska-Kulak et aI., 2007, 2009Nordstrom, Norback, & Akselsson, 1995;Nordstrom, Norback, & Wieslander, 1999).…”

“…Due to functional changes and the ages of the premises, hospital buildings are under continuous repair. Several studies have shown that renovations of water-damaged buildings significantly contaminate the environment with microbes (Lee, 2009;Pini, Donato, Faggi, & Fanci, 2004).…”

The potential environmental role of fungi as a complication in COVID-19 infections

“…23 Other hospitals in the United States have also experienced unwanted mould issues; 24 while the research literature has reported on this topic and the legal implications for some time. 25,26 In Wuhan it is reported that there are 16 shelter hospitals and that some 'fever hospitals' are in sports arenas or exhibition center's due to the bed shortage at dedicated hospitals. The use of temporary shelters following natural disasters are known to affect people in a range of ways with obvious problems caused by crowding people at different stages of the infection cycle.…”

Hospital Flood Preparedness: A Survey of 15 Provinces in Central Thailand

“…3,4 Our survey highlighted the need for national education on environmental decontamination, mold remediation, and isolation unit operation after flooding, which deserves further evaluation in resource-limited settings. 5 Because Thailand had previously been affected by an outbreak of avian influenza and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the high response rates for several aspects of hospital disaster preparedness (eg, stockpiling of PPE and plans for surge capacity and operation of laboratory units) were not surprising. 6,7 Finally, our study emphasizes the role of a "safety culture" in a hospital as a strong predictor for HFP plans in this middle-income country.…”