Local hospital officials on Wednesday said they’re confident patients and visitors are safe here despite a Wisconsin outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease linked to a contaminated decorative water wall in a hospital lobby.

Two area hospitals – with a third on the way – use flowing water to create tranquil settings. But spokesmen for the facilities said their staffs take precautions to ensure the architectural features don’t make anyone sick.

In 2010, eight people in Wisconsin contracted Legionnaires’ disease, a severe and potentially life-threatening form of pneumonia caused by bacteria. None had been admitted to the Milwaukee-area hospital at the time of exposure, but they all passed by the water wall in the main hospital lobby, officials said.

The disease is spread when someone inhales water droplets or mist from a contaminated water source.

One person who got sick was a deliveryman. Three others were picking up medication at the hospital pharmacy. Three were outpatients. And one man was waiting to pick up his wife.

All eight either had underlying medical conditions or other factors that increased their risks of getting Legionnaires’ disease. Three were hospitalized in intensive care and were on mechanical ventilators; all eight survived. Nationally, more than 10 percent of cases are fatal.

The study, published online this week in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, is the second documented outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in a health-care setting associated with a wall-type water fountain.

Even with regular cleaning and testing, “it’s possible for legionella to accumulate,” said Jan Patterson, president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The only water feature in Lutheran Health Network is a display at Dupont Hospital behind the lobby reception desk, spokesman Geoff Thomas said.

The 10-gallon fountain uses water treated to remove impurities. The water wall – which is 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide – receives monthly cleanings and maintenance, he said.

“We are obviously going to monitor any additional research that comes out,” Thomas said.

The new Parkview Whitley Hospital has an enclosed water wall feature near the second-floor chapel. That water cannot be touched or inhaled, spokesman John Perlich said.

The new Parkview Regional Medical Center will have a large, open waterfall in its main lobby when it opens March 17. But the design and other precautions will make it safe for visitors and patients, Perlich said.

The waterfall will use constantly moving, purified water. The recirculation process includes an ultraviolet light system that continuously filters and cleans the water for added safety, Perlich said.

Parkview staff also regularly tests its water features.

Lauri Hicks, a CDC medical epidemiologist and specialist on Legionnaires’, said water in fountains or water walls is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria because it is warm or at room temperature and because recirculating water can stagnate.

Symptoms of Legionnaires’ are shortness of breath, cough and severe fatigue.

sslater@jg.net

The Washington Post contributed to this story.