Water Management Program
The ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023 standard defines a "water management program" as a multidisciplinary effort, requiring involvement from several key roles within (and sometimes outside) a healthcare facility. The standard explicitly lists the titles or groups that should be part of the water management program’s multidisciplinary team. These are:
Below is a summary with Title/Group and Role/Responsibility:
Senior organizational leadership: Authority to make command decisions, allocate resources (executive sponsorship)
Facilities engineering staff: Responsible for water system installation, qualification, validation, and maintenance
Infection prevention and control staff: Develop policies, perform surveillance, review water management program, risk assessment, and escalation
Medical device processing personnel: Responsible for device cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, and monitoring for water-related device issues
Clinical engineering staff: Risk management, procurement, assessment, project management, and safety initiatives
Surgical suite/procedure room personnel: Visual inspection of instruments/devices for water quality issues before use
Water treatment specialist: Selection, integration, qualification, and validation of water treatment equipment
Notes:
The multidisciplinary team may include both internal staff and external (contracted) experts (like the team at CulliganST108.com).
The team is responsible for developing, implementing, and documenting all aspects of the water management program1.
References:
Section 4.3 of ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023 (Roles and responsibilities) - This structure ensures that all relevant expertise—from executive decision-making to technical water treatment—is represented in the water management program, supporting compliance with AAMI ST108 and optimal patient safet
