Long-term care Legionella prevention and control strategies: Experiences of nursing homes in Florida and Georgia

Background:Over the past several years, there have been more than 100 confirmed cases in US healthcare facilities of Legionnaires’ disease, a severe and potentially fatal pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium found in contaminated water systems. Older people and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to Legionella, putting long-term care patients at greater risk of infection. Past efforts to address this growing environmental health crisis have been limited to local surveillance programs for testing water systems in multi-family housing units. In June 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required Medicare-certified healthcare facilities to establish water management programs to reduce the risk of Legionella.Methods:We conducted a mixed methods study (surveys, interviews) to examine the adoption and implementation of these guidelines as well as existing Legionella prevention and control strategies in nursing homes in Florida and Georgia.Results:Findings ...