Disneyland officials on Saturday said they had shut down and decontaminated two cooling towers following a 12-person outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from California, New York, and Oklahoma.
- California: Disneyland officials on Saturday said they had shut down and decontaminated two cooling towers following a 12-person outbreak of Legionnaires' disease. According to Reuters, the cooling towers at Disneyland emit a mist that may have carried the Legionella bacteria, which cause Legionnaires' disease. Of the 12 people affected by the disease, nine were guests or employees at Disneyland—the other three were individuals who traveled or resided near Anaheim, where the park is located, in September. Pamela Hymel, CMO for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said the towers have been treated with chemicals to kill the bacteria and no longer pose a health risk (Whitcomb, Reuters, 11/11; Barboza, Los Angeles Times, 11/11; Stych, L.A. Biz, 11/11).
- New York: Memorial Sloan Kettering and Cota announced an initiative to improve oncology treatment and research. Through the initiative, Sloan will send anonymized clinical data to Cota. Cota will then analyze the data through its Cota Nodal Address classification system, which categorizes patients based on their attributes, illnesses, and possible treatment options. Sloan hopes that this initiative will improve their patient care as well as their research (Dietsche, MedCity News, 11/10).
- Oklahoma: Tennessee-based RCCH HealthCare Partners has named Larry Rodgers CEO of Oklahoma-based Southwestern Medical Center. Rodger, who will assume his new position on Dec. 11, previously served as CEO of Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Missouri and held leadership roles at other hospitals in both Missouri and Texas (Vaidya, Becker's Hospital Review, 11/10).
It's that time of the year again—how to avoid the flu when you fly
Download this infographic to learn where germs are rampant on airplanes, in both some obvious and less obvious locations.