Healthcare Facilities

Qualified Professionals

Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc. is an ASHE and KSHE Certified Healthcare Contractor and AIHA Accredited Laboratory with a Certified Indoor Air Quality Professional, Ph.D. Microbiologist, and Certified Industrial Hygienists on staff.

Experienced

Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc. has coordinated with healthcare organizations across the United States consulting on thousands of environmental projects, including:

• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
• Legionella potable water and cooling tower testing
• Pre-construction, construction and renovation; Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA)

Infection Prevention & Control

Download Info:

• Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA)
• Infection Control Risk Assessment - Daily Monitoring
• Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities

As healthcare providers strive to protect patient health and safety, indoor air quality has moved to the forefront as a potential concern, especially as hospitals are faced with the renovation or expansion of existing facilities.

Providing a safe and comfortable environment requires more than air filtration and climate control. Recognizing and controlling sources of potential contaminants and irritants is vital to maintaining exceptional air quality in any building.

Construction, renovation, and restoration of water damage can all be potential sources of airborne contaminants.

Will you know how to address concerns such as:

• How to identify potential hazards that could cause airborne infections and environmental air quality contamination that could lead to increased morbidity and mortality in immune suppressed patients?
• Do you have appropriate procedures in place to protect indoor air quality during all of your construction projects; especially in critical areas such as operation suites or emergency room?

Healthcare Construction

Hospital construction and renovation have been associated with increased risk for nosocomial fungal infection, especially aspergillosis, among patients.

Planning for construction or renovation should include strategies for intensified control measures. Utilizing a planning committee that incorporates personnel with various backgrounds to identify project concerns throughout the planning and construction stages. (Healthcare Engineers, Infection Control Personnel, and Safety Officers)

American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE)

Kentucky Society for Healthcare Engineers (KSHE)

Dedicated to optimizing the healthcare physical environment, gauging the impact construction and maintenance activities have on occupied healthcare facilities and applying the necessary code compliance measures to meet national standards and guidelines.

• Applying ICRA principles to design, construction, renovation and maintenance activities
• List meaningful surveillance methods to interpret the microbial and ventilation factors for infectious disease management during construction and maintenance activities
• Identify steps that can be taken to prevent mold growth
• Develop an understanding of remediation when mold is discovered
• Apply elements of current codes and standards in controlling the spread of disease during construction, renovation and maintenance
• Analyze general steps taken to manage a "surge" of patients when an outbreak or endemic event has occurred and how each is typically managed
• Identify infectious hazards for construction and maintenance workers including blood borne pathogens, airborne infectious agents and waterborne hazards that may be encountered when performing demolition, construction and maintenance
• Identify proactive ways to communicate information both internally and externally when infectious sources are identified
• Discuss ICRA strategies and how to share data in a meaningful way with senior management

American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities

The 2006 edition of the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities was published in July 2006 (superceding the 2001 edition). The Guidelines document is referenced by architects, engineers, and health care professionals throughout the United States and in other countries who are planning new or renovated health care facility construction. Authorities in 42 states, the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and several federal agencies use the Guidelines as a reference, code, or standard when reviewing construction designs and plans and completed health care facilities.

Conceived as minimum construction requirements for hospitals, the document has evolved to include engineering systems, infection control, and safety as well as architectural guidelines for design and construction. JCAHO states that the AIA Guidelines should be used during new construction.

The Guidelines are updated on a four-year cycle by the multidisciplinary Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC). Individuals knowledgeable about health care practices and health care facility design (doctors, nurses, facility managers, architects, and engineers) and those who apply the document in the field (state and federal authorities having jurisdiction) serve on the committee.