Oxnard hospital seeks a second mold abatement

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Oxnard hospital seeks a second mold abatement

Despite ongoing spore problem at St. 's, a spokeswoman says

patients are not at risk.

By Saillant, Times Staff Writer

March 9, 2007

Los Angeles Times - CA

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-me-

hospital9mar09,1,5329470.story?coll=la-health-

medicine & ctrack=1 & cset=true

Plagued for years by mold infestation, St. 's Regional Medical

Center in Oxnard may tent and fumigate the entire 230-bed facility

to attack spores found throughout the building, including in patient

rooms, according to hospital officials and court documents.

Other remedies could include demolishing and replacing showers,

walls, windows and the entire stucco exterior of the 14-year-old

hospital — at costs that could run as high as $87 million, according

to hospital estimates.

" We will not commit to a new remediation process before we

understand it to be effective, safe and providing for as little

disruption as possible to our operations, " said Rita O'Connor,

hospital spokeswoman.

Fumigation would necessitate shutting down the medical center for at

least a month, according to one source familiar with the project who

did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal. The hospital,

which admitted 11,500 patients last year, has made tentative plans

to close in late May, the source said.

O'Connor declined to confirm the timing, saying no decisions have

been made.

She said no patients or employees have been sickened by the mold.

But a toxicologist hired by St. 's to assess the fungal

contamination testified last fall that the potential for infections

or allergic reactions exists.

In a court declaration, Mission Viejo toxicologist Harry Skalsky

said he found potentially harmful levels of Stachybotrys spores at

the hospital. The presence of the spores " may lead to or exacerbate

allergic reactions and/or cause toxic effects or infections, "

Skalsky stated in the court document.

Exposure to Stachybotrys spores is not a serious health risk for the

general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention in Atlanta. But people with immune suppression or

underlying lung disease are more susceptible to fungal infections,

the center advises on its website, http://www.cdc.gov .

Mold has plagued the sprawling medical campus at Road and

Rose Avenue almost from the moment it opened its resort-like doors

in late 1992.

In 15 volumes of court documents at the Ventura County Courthouse,

hospital officials traced the problem to the medical center's

construction.

In 1996, Catholic Healthcare West, the San Francisco-based nonprofit

that owns the hospital, sued the general contractor, Centex Rodgers,

alleging that shoddy construction had allowed water to seep into the

building's interior. Whenever it rained, moisture filtered down

through ill-fitting windows and joints, the hospital's engineering

experts testified.

Over the years, mold began to accumulate around patient showers,

ceiling tiles and inside drywall.

After years of legal wrangling, Centex agreed to repair 1,100

windows and more than 200 patient room showers that were leaking and

to remove moldy interiors, court documents show.

But in the hospital's view, the fix turned into an even greater

disaster. The new showers leaked into walls and through the catch

basins, St. 's attorneys alleged in court filings.

Some of the new windows leaked, sealant applied to the hospital's

exterior walls was ineffective, and mold spores that should have

been detected were left in place, the hospital's lawyers said.

In 2003, St. 's filed a second lawsuit, naming Centex and 14

other firms involved in the remediation work. Late last year, it had

reached settlements totaling $28.6 million with Centex and most of

the subcontractors.

The hospital alleges that the sole remaining defendant, Mactec

Engineering and Consulting, was responsible for swab-and-air testing

to make sure all the mold had been removed. Its failure to do so

resulted in more mold and the need for a second major removal

effort, St. 's said in court documents.

Fungal patches have been found in virtually all private patient

rooms and along hospital corridors, according to court documents

filed by Catholic Healthcare West.

Skalsky, the toxicologist, said field tests performed after the

first removal effort showed that high levels of Stachybotrys spores

still were present inside the hospital. He attributed the

reinfestation to rotted drywall that was not removed and to Mactec's

failure to detect remaining spores.

As a result, Skalsky said, " every room must be remediated and

cleared again. "

Attorneys for Mactec did not return phone calls.

In an e-mail, hospital spokeswoman O'Connor disputed that patients

are at risk, saying, " There have been no confirmed cases of patients

or employees having been sickened by a mold infection acquired at

the hospital. "

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