LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan ordered a Flint hospital Tuesday to immediately comply with federal recommendations that were issued due to its association with a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, saying the hospital’s water system is unsanitary and a possible source of illness.
The order, which was issued by the state Department of Health and Human Services, said McLaren Flint has insufficiently demonstrated compliance with recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the fall.
Some outside experts suspect the 2014-15 outbreak was linked to a man-made public health crisis caused by Flint’s lead-contaminated tap water, but the state said a review of information initially provided by the hospital “has raised several new questions that require answers.”
The state cited a report from December 2014 in which a company that tested McLaren’s water said it seemed that the municipal water was not contributing to the hospital’s Legionella bacteria issues and the issues instead were “likely internal to the hospital system.” The state said it will appoint a monitor, conduct independent water testing and force the hospital to cooperate with all requests for information.
A McLaren spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment. The state, which has come under scrutiny for mishandling the outbreak and waiting to notify the public, has been following up on Legionnaires’ cases after winning a legal dispute over access to records. It has wanted to know more about what the hospital is doing to strengthen its water system.