6/16/2026 | 8:00 AM-9:00 AM
H2-Oh No! When Dialysis Water Quality Goes Wrong
Session Description: Inclement weather in the winter can disrupt travel, cause delays but it can also seriously impact your hospital water supply. In a recent case, the impact was on the public water supply feeding into the hospital. What happens when water sampling for your dialysis machines is out of range? Are you prepared to shift your practices to keep patients safe when an environmental disruption throws your incoming water off balance? In the beginning of 2025, our facility had a high concentration of sodium conductivity in the public water supply which was discovered during daily water sampling. Multiple questions and meetings were quickly set up to address the issue. Ultimately, it was determined after much research that the increase in sodium concentration was due to the impending winter storms and the decision from the county to proactively treat the roadways with salt. High sodium can impact your dialysis equipment, dialysate and sodium concentration in patients' blood. Fortunately, our facility had a contingency plan in place to accommodate a change over from Reverse Osmosis to Deionized water. We also determined that not only did this impact our dialysis unit but also our ice machines supplying the hospital. The issues from this type of event can last several days and impact your patients. We will describe the water event that occurred, how it was discovered, how long the event lasted, the facility impacts, contingency plans put into place in the interim, water sampling, and bringing the facility back up and running. This presentation is meant for any facility that has a dialysis unit.
Kelly Romano
Regional Director of Infection Control, Jefferson Healthcare
Kelly Romano is a seasoned leader in infection prevention and public health with over 20 years of experience protecting patients and communities. As Regional Director of Infection Prevention at Jefferson Health, she champions a culture of safety and empowers healthcare teams to address patient safety concerns. Kelly began her career investigating infectious diseases and leading outbreak responses at the Montgomery County Health Department. She holds a Master of Public Health from West Chester University, a Bachelor of Science from Temple University, and a Certificate in Human Factors Engineering from the University of Michigan. Certified in Infection Control, Kelly has presented nationally, authored publications, and received the 2019 APIC Heroes of Infection Prevention Award. Her career spans roles from Disease Intervention Specialist to regional leader, driving strategies that advance health equity and strengthen community health. She is currently the Regional Director of Infection Control for Jefferson Health.