As the healthcare community and healthcare architects look beyond the crisis response to the pandemic , the question becomes how COVID-19 – and what has been learned about infection control – will impact how the healthcare builtenvironment is approached in the future .”
built-environment is approached in the future .”
“ Probably very few busy people are going to carefully review all of that ,” Dickey acknowledges . “ I would say our colleagues at ASHRAE were helpful in being able to reiterate that air exchanges , filtration and direction of the air matter in healthcare settings . All three serve as levers that you can utilize to help optimize the quality of the air in the healthcare space . I think they ’ re trying to be thoughtful , in my opinion , about their recommendations . I also think that it is imperative that it continue to be a multi-disciplinary process as they issue recommendations . I think they did a good job of stepping into a very difficult time to issue guidance around practical interventions to address air-quality concerns during the pandemic . There are so many moving parts in regular , outbreak or pandemic scenarios , including how sick the person was , how many droplets they were producing , what kind of mask people had on , etc . There are many factors in that equation , not just air quality . Also , both APIC and ASHE continue to emphasize the value of risk assessment . You ’ re going to have different levels of risk in different areas and it ’ s a multi-disciplinary process that works . But you really must look at your spaces in the healthcare environment , involve your
clinicians , look at your patient population and figure out where your biggest risks and vulnerabilities are , and prioritize those . For example , if we ’ re trying to cohort people that we suspect or know have COVID in this one space , and that ’ s what our operational plan is , then let ’ s examine the risks and benefits of that space .”
References :
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ). PSNet . COVID-19 and the Built Environment . June 30 , 2021 . Accessible at : https :// psnet . ahrq . gov / perspective / covid-19-and-built-environment
Dickerman KN and Barach P . Designing the Built Environment for A Culture and System of Patient Safety – A Conceptual , New Design Process . In : Advances in Patient Safety : New Directions and Alternative Approaches ( Vol . 2 : Culture and Redesign ). Henriksen K , Battles JB , Keyes MA , et al ., editors . Rockville , Md .: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality . August 2008 .
Noskin GA and Peterson LR . Engineering infection control through facility design . Emerg Infect Dis . 2003 ; 3:18-26 .
Zimring C , Denham ME , Jacob JT , et al . Understanding the Role of Health Care Facility Design in the Acquisition and Prevention of HAIs . Prepared by Georgia Institute of Technology , Emory School of Medicine , and RTI International . AHRQ Publication No . 13-0053-EF . Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ; 2013 . Accessible at : https :// www . ahrq . gov / sites / default / files / publications / files / haidesignsummary . pdf
SUBMISSIONS WANTED
Healthcare Hygiene magazine invites infection prevention stakeholders from all aspects of prevention and control ( including IP / healthcare epidemiology , healthcare value analysis , quality / safety / risk management , surgical services , sterile processing , environmental services , biomedical engineering and scientific research ) to submit sciencedriven , best practice-based articles for consideration for publication . Please , no public relations pitches or articles with commercial overtones . Send your queries to Kelly Pyrek at : kelly @ healthcarehygienemagazine . com
Keep up on the latest news headlines , monthly issues and special editions at : www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com
healthcarehygienemagazine