State orders Flint hospital to address water-quality risks

LANSING, Mich. — 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 shown compliance with recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the fall.

The hospital fired back, accusing the state of providing “absolutely no support” during the 2014-15 outbreak.

Some outside experts suspect the spike in cases was linked to Flint’s improperly treated, leadcontaminated tap water, but the state said a review “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 problems 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 co-operate with requests for information.

McLaren said it already has provided much, if not all, of the information outlined in the order but plans to be fully responsive.

The state, which has come under scrutiny for mishandling the outbreak and waiting to notify the public, is following up on legionnaires’ cases after winning a legal dispute over access to records.

It wants to know more about what the hospital is doing to strengthen its water system.

The order came the same day the mayor of Flint, Karen Weaver, met with Gov. Rick Snyder to discuss Michigan’s decision to withdraw some financial assistance that was offered to help the city cope with the man-made water crisis.

In a “constructive discussion,” he said, he reaffirmed a state announcement from three weeks ago to stop paying a portion of customers’ bills and also halt covering Flint’s costs to use water from a Detroit-area system.

Snyder said the payments will end because the level of lead in the city’s water no longer exceeds the federal limit.