Banner Health’s Colorado hospitals receive water purifying system
East Morgan County Hospital emergency coordinator Janie Carter accepts the new emergency water purification system from Ron Seedorf of the Colorado Rural Health Center.
BRUSH, Colo. (Dec. 11, 2008) – All four Banner Health hospitals in Colorado are receiving $1,700 water purification systems in November and December, compliments of the Colorado Rural Health Center.
The nonprofit rural health center, which works with rural and urban health facilities on emergency preparedness activities, provided a total of 73 water purification units to all acute care hospitals throughout the state.
In making the presentation at East Morgan County Hospital in Brush, CHRC emergency preparedness manager Ron Seedorf said the small water purification unit will have a big impact if Morgan County ever experiences a contamination of the public water supply similar to what happened in Alamosa, Colo., in March 2008.
In Alamosa, officials shut down the town’s water system as water-born salmonella and associated illnesses continued to spread. The emergency impacted the local hospital, which had to rely on bottled water to continue to provide patient care.
The incident in Alamosa brought to light the need for hospitals to have alternative water sources. The CHRC covered the cost of the units through unrestricted funding reserves.
The unit, which weighs about 45 pounds and is the size of a small piece of carry-on luggage, can produce one gallon of purified water per minute and about 1,440 gallons per day. The water is 99.999 percent purified, Seedorf said.
East Morgan County Hospital emergency coordinator Janie Carter said the average person needs about one gallon of water per day for personal consumption and hygiene. Hospitalized patients might need up to seven gallons each per day for use and care.
The Trekker unit purifies water from any fresh water source such as a lake, well, pond, river or flood. It is powered by a 12-volt DC current that can be supplied by a car, truck, RV, boat, plane or most generators.
Carter said EMCH has not had a water purification system, but had talked about getting one.
Seedorf plans to personally deliver a unit to Sterling Regional Medical Center in Sterling. McKee Medical Center in Loveland and North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley received units earlier this month.
