The action comes as hospital and Colorado public health officials continue their investigation of contaminated surgical equipment that could have exposed patients to HIV and hepatitis.
Acting on "an abundance of caution," Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver said Thursday it will temporarily suspend all surgeries at the hospital until it corrects water quality issues that could be linked to contaminated surgical equipment.
The suspension comes one day after the hospital sent notices to orthopedic surgery patients warning of a potential risk for infection from improperly cleaned surgical equipment. That breach is still under investigation, and it was not immediately clear if the contaminated water was the source of the breach.
"We made the decision to pause all surgeries after we noticed a potential change in our water quality relative to our surgical equipment," Porter Adventist said in a written statement.
Related: Colorado Hospital Warns Patients of Possible Surgical Site Infections
"We are working closely with patients to reschedule surgeries, and we are supporting them through this process. We notified the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment and they conducted a site visit on April 5."
On Wednesday, orthopedic and spine surgery patients treated at the hospital between July 21, 2016 to Feb. 20, 2018 were notified that they could have been exposed to surgical site infections for hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV.
It has not been made clear how many patients may have been exposed to potential infection, but Colorado public health officials said they are not aware of any patient infections related to the breach.
Porter Adventist said it is offering patients who underwent orthopedic or spine surgical procedures from February 21, 2018 to April 5, 2018 the opportunity to be tested for bloodborne pathogens.
"We will be notifying these patients directly via a written letter and will be providing additional information regarding surgical site infection," a statement from the hospital read. "As always, we are committed to patient safety and supporting them through this process."
"We recognize this news follows Wednesday’s announcement about a past gap in the pre-cleaning process of surgical instruments, prior to manual washing, machine washing, and sterilization," Porter Adventist said. "We continue to maintain that the risk of infection to patients is extremely low."
"We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of patient care," the hospital statement read. "We understand that this information may cause concern, and are working closely with our patient care team, doctors and staff to ensure any patients involved have the information and resources they need."
The state health department was notified of the breach Feb. 21. The department conducted an on-site survey of infection control practices at the hospital. A disease control investigation is ongoing.
The department last visited the hospital March 28, confirming that current infection-control practices meet standards.
Porter Adventist stopped using and reprocessed all surgical equipment in question Feb. 20.
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.