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Suit claims mold killed FL cancer patients

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Ventilation Systems
Tampa
St. Joseph's Hospital
Oncology Center
Negligence
hospital infection control
cancer
Blood Infection
Airborne Contaminants
Air Filters

A Tampa, FL-based hospital is battling claims that mold released by renovations, rather than their illness, killed three young cancer patients last year.

The hospital has argued that the three children, who died within a month of one another, simply succumbed to the severity of their condition despite all efforts to save them.

A spokesperson for the facility, St. Joseph's Hospital, notes that children with weakened immune systems brought on by cancer were more susceptible to infection. The spokesperson also asserts that the hospital took all measures needed to cut infections, including barriers around construction areas, air filters and monitoring ventilation systems to cut down on airborne contaminants.

The suit, however, contends that mold released during the renovation of the ground floor of the children's oncology center led to the children's fatal infections. Attorneys have sued the hospital for negligence on behalf of the three children's families.

To learn more about this case:
- read this St. Petersburg Times item

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This is definitely a serious concern for a lot of hospitals, especially with so much attention focused on health care infections. Even minor fixes require extensive involvement with infection control to avoid this kind of situation. There is a post at www.oshahealthcareadvisor.com that addresses some of these infection control concerns, including links to a live audio this month about infection control during renovations that could help a lot of facilities avoid an often preventable incident like this.

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