Bryan Connors to Present on Water Infection Control Risk Assessments at SPARC’s January Webinar Event

Beyond the Single Lens: A Cross-functional Water Infection Control Risk Assessment

Water systems, comprised of subsystems and components, have unique characteristics that contribute to microorganism proliferation and subsequent infection risk. The way water is treated and used may vary even within the same building, significantly impacting risk profiles and control measures.

In this upcoming webinar, Bryan will discuss why it’s important for infection prevention to partner with facilities and water management experts to harness knowledge of water system complexities. Limiting the water infection control risk assessment (WICRA) to one discipline does not fully capture patient risks. It can result in under or overestimating risk, with negative consequences for patient safety and hospital resources.

The webinar will focus on the following learning objectives:

• Formulate a more thorough understanding of infection risks related to hospital water systems by examining water from the point of entry to endpoint, including the particular infection risks posed by subsystems and components commonly present in hospital plumbing systems.
• Discuss the subsystems and components that comprise hospital water plumbing systems. This knowledge will help participants communicate and collaborate with healthcare facility management professionals on strategies to prevent infections and in hypothesizing sources of infection in the event of an infection cluster or outbreak.
• Integrate water systems and infection prevention knowledge to identify and rank risk using the elements from both the “traditional” water systems risk assessment and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Water Infection Control Risk Assessment.

Maryland Department of Health hosts a series of monthly hour-long virtual webinars with approximately 180 infection preventionists from hospitals across Maryland in attendance with the goal of knowledge sharing among acute care hospitals in Maryland. This year SPARC has been focused on presenting content related to water management programs in acute care facilities.

Presenter:

Bryan Connors, MS, CIH, HEM
Managing Principal Consultant, Healthcare
Environmental Health & Engineering

SPARC January Webinar

January 15, 2025, 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Registration is for members only.