Legionnaires’ disease was a primary cause of a patient’s death last month at New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Washington Heights campus – and the deadly legionella bacteria has also been found at the hospital’s Upper East Side complex, officials said yesterday.
The diagnosis of the patient, who has not been publicly identified, at the uptown Columbia-Presbyterian facility was determined in an autopsy conducted by the hospital.
A second patient, Richard Montesano, who died April 13 at Columbia Presbyterian, also may have been felled by legionella.
His family has said he tested positive for Legionnaire’s, but the city medical examiner has not yet completed the autopsy.
“We view this matter very seriously, and are taking all necessary measures to insure the safety of our patients,” the hospital said in a press release.
Because of the problem, patients at the 687-bed Milstein Building in Washington Heights and at the 786-bed Greenberg Pavilion, miles away at the New York Hospital campus on the Upper East Side, are being furnished with bottled water.
As a long-term solution, New York-Presbyterian is installing new water-purification equipment in patient buildings in both Washington Heights and on the Upper East Side.
Also, the hospital is installing water-purification and cleaning systems at both buildings.
The new systems will superheat the water to kill the Legionella bacteria – much the way bacteria is killed in milk by pasteurization, said Mark Hodgeson of Clayton Group Services, a consultant hired by the hospital to work on the problem.
Also, the water will be hyperchlorinated, and the hospital will install silver/copper ionization systems that secrete small amounts of bacteria-killing metal into the water.
Aside from the two possible Legionnaires’ deaths, New York-Presbyterian has reported four cases of possible Legionnaires at the Washington Heights building since March.
No cases have been reported at the Upper East Side building.
Legionella is present in most cities’ water supplies and can flourish in water between temperatures of 68 and 120 degrees.
Residential buildings and offices routinely heat water enough to kill the bacteria before it gets to the tap, Hodgeson said.
But building codes bar hospitals from heating tap water to more than 115 degrees because of fears of scalding.