State orders McLaren-Flint hospital to act now to reduce future risk of legionellosis

FLINT, MI – McLaren-Flint has been ordered to correct certain hospital conditions to reduce the risk of future exposure to Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires' disease.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the State Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Department issued orders under the Public Health Code on Wednesday, June 12, the last leg of an endless battle between the hospital and the state on the questions of legionaries.

The orders require McLaren to immediately comply with water restrictions, patient notifications, data requests, public health investigations and official departmental recommendations – all that the state says hospital has not been completely done in the past.

"We are currently reviewing the MDHHS and LARA orders," said Rosemary Plorin, spokesperson for McLaren-Flint, in an email. "We think this is unfounded and represents the state's ongoing efforts to blame the bad decisions made five years ago on our hospital. We will respond to MDHHS on time and explore prosecution possibilities against the department. "

Previously, the hospital had claimed that he had become the scapegoat for the outbreak of legionnaires during the Flint water crisis, as the DHHS attempted to blame epidemics for it on its own. employees and former employees and on McLaren.

In a press release, the DHHS said that under the Public Health Code, it had the duty "to prevent the spread of diseases and the existence of sources of contamination" and had the power to issue an order to "correct at the expense of the owner building or state that is in violation of health laws or that the health officer or the local health director reasonably believes to be a nuisance, a unhealthy condition or a cause of illness. "

In a press release, Robert Gordon, director of DHHS, said the state had already tried to cooperate with McLaren in the past, and said: "Immediate compliance with this order will reduce the health risks for patients in McLaren. "

The LARA order states that the measures taken so far by the hospital have not been sufficient to solve legionella problems and a statement by LARA director Orlene Hawks says that this has reduced McLaren's ability to provide an acceptable level of care for the health and safety of the public. "

Wednesday's order is not the first that the state sent to McLaren because of legionnaires.

The hospital was investigated for outbreaks of legionellosis in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the DHHS issued another order in February 2017.

"In 2018, three McLaren Flint patients had health problems. MDHHS considers this to be a legionnaire's disease that may be associated with their hospital stay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have endorsed the department's decisions, "the DHHS statement said.

"However, McLaren Flint challenged the findings and refused to fully implement the recommendations made by the CDC and MDHHS on how to investigate suspected cases in the future and on the measures to be taken. concerning the water supply system in order to better ensure public health. "

In 2019, two other cases of legionellosis associated with McLaren Flint were reported, said the state, one of which "is a case clearly associated with health care since the person spent 10 days in the facility during the period of incubation of the disease ".