Public Employee Press

SOUTH BRONX HEALTH SCARE
Members halt deadly Legionnaires'

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

More than 200 first responders, including dozens of DC 37 members, set out in July to halt the worst outbreak of Legionnaires' disease ever to hit New York, which left 12 dead and sickened 130 people in the South Bronx.

"This outbreak is a serious health crisis and once again our members are on the front lines to protect the public," said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido.

Officials from the Office of Emergency Management, the Health and Hospitals Corp., the Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Office of Labor Relations met with DC 37 and the Municipal Labor Committee in an all out effort to thwart the spread of the deadly bacteria that causes Legionnaires'. Garrido said, "We met immediately and the mayor and agency heads were very responsive."

Public Health Sanitarians Glen Revan and Carlos Pesantes were part of DOHMH's public health engineering teams assigned to tackle the Legionnaires' outbreak. Dispatched in protective gear, they collected water samples from 135 cooling towers atop buildings in the South Bronx as evidence of a cluster developed.

The Local 768 Sanitarians transported the water samples to labs run by the city and state health departments for testing. They also trained crews from the state, the city, Westchester County and the Centers for Disease Control on water sampling.

Disease detectors

"We've worked nonstop since the outbreak began," said PHS Pesantes. "We've had great leadership from our Assistant Commissioner Chris Boyd, and are proud to be on a team of professionals who always have our safety in mind. The CDC was involved from the start, and we all worked together."

As the death toll reached double digits in August, the Centers for Disease Control and health experts applauded the city's response. The outbreak led the City Council to set a national precedent by mandating testing, remediation, maintenance and regular monitoring of cooling towers citywide; the state also passed similar legislation.

Of the 135 systems tested, 20 cooling towers in the South Bronx were positive for Legionella bacteria. Epidemiologists in Local 436 searched for the outbreak's origins and answers to understand why this happened.

SoBro's Opera House Hotel, city officials believe, is the epicenter of the outbreak. Public health workers also detected the bacteria at the Banknote Building, Samuel Gompers High School and an NYPD building. An inmate at Riker's Island jail also was stricken by Legionnaires', a rare form of pneumonia.

Legionella bacteria was found at two major hospitals in the Bronx - St. Barnabus Hospital and HHC's Lincoln Hospital, where DC 37 represents 1,411 workers in Locals 154, 299, 371, 375, 420, 768, 924, 983, 1087, 1189, 1407, 1549, and 2627.

"DC 37 requested the city immediately decontaminate Lincoln and other affected facilities," said Guille Mejia, director of the union's Safety and Health Dept. "Lincoln Hospital responded immediately and cleaned and disinfected its cooling tower. DC 37 stressed the need for transparency and for city officials to be forthcoming with information." New samples were taken and tested negative for the bacteria.

The union and HHC held a series of town hall meetings in shifts to keep Lincoln staff abreast of developments, address their concerns, and establish a protocol for this medical crisis.

Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics in Local 2507 and their supervisors in Local 3621 transported the sick to Lincoln Hospital where doctors, nurses and DC 37 members on staff cared for 44 patients dignosed with Legionnaires', Mejia said.

Legionnaires' disease is not contagious, and one would have to inhale mist contaminated with the bacteria to get sick. "A healthy person is usually fine," Mejia said, "but people with compromised health, smokers and the elderly could be at risk."

"We expose ourselves because we are dedicated to solving this problem and protecting people's health," said PHS Revan. "Being able to help New Yorkers feel safe and finding the source of the disease - and the solution - brings me a lot of satisfaction."

With no new cases reported since Aug. 3, Mayor Bill de Blasio visited Lincoln Hospital on Aug. 14 to personally thank the HHC staff for their hard work in bringing the Legionnaires' outbreak under control and keeping New Yorkers safe.

"We are fortunate that no members got sick, and panic did not spread," said DC 37 and Local 1549 President Eddie Rodriguez. "This is a serious issue and our concern is not just for our members' lives and the patients, but for all New Yorkers."