Matt Freije

Matt Freije has been studying Legionella prevention since 1993. Synthesizing findings from scientific studies led to the publication of his first book, Legionellae Control in Health Care Facilities: A Guide for Minimizing Risk, which has been distributed in more than 30 countries. His second book, Protect Yourself from Legionnaires’ Disease: The waterborne illness that continues to kill and harm, was published in 2011.

Since the late 1990s, Matt has been the editor of Legionella Enews and a frequent contributor of industry articles and presentations on topics related to Legionella and water management. He has also served as a peer reviewer for scientific papers, taught seminars in five countries, written and narrated nine e-learning courses, and presented webinars attended by hundreds of government and industry professionals.

Matt earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a post baccalaureate certificate in epidemiology and biostatistics from Drexel University. He also completed a water treatment certificate program at California State University, Sacramento, and a graduate course in Microbiology at Montana State University. He is a Certified Water Specialist and an approved instructor for ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI Standard 12080 (Professional Qualifications Standard for Legionella Water Safety and Management Personnel) training. He is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Association of Water Technologists (AWT), American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), and Water Quality Association (WQA).

In 1995, Matt founded HC Info with the mission of protecting health and life by providing information and services that help people reduce the risk of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens. Through HC Info, he helped operators of hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, and other large buildings prevent and solve Legionella problems. He investigated hundreds of building water systems, recommended remedial strategies for plumbing systems, designed sampling programs, and wrote Legionella water management plans. He also served as an expert in more than 60 legal matters pertaining to Legionnaires’ disease, with deposition and trial testimony for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Matt’s experience, education, and research culminated with the development of LAMPS, a cloud-based application for water management programs and training. LAMPS is now used by thousands of professionals worldwide including facility managers, water treatment specialists, industrial hygienists, consultants, engineers, infection preventionists, and health officials.

Matt continues to serve as CEO of HC Info, overseeing the LAMPS software and providing technical support to LAMPS Partners.