An advance investigation into the needs and preferences of the medical team proved in valuable for a Virginia hospital retrofit. The range of desired OR conditions was demanding, but for good reason. The designers, armed with this info, applied experience and mechanical muscle to provide the environmental flexibility to operate from one patient to the next.
Carilion Clinic is a not-for-profit health care organization based in Roanoke, VA. In line with their mission to improve the health of the communities they serve, and with the intent of becoming a teaching facility, Carilion Clinic set upon upgrading their operating rooms and related existing HVAC systems at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Christiansburg, VA.
As we continue to look for weapons to fight hospital-acquired infections (HAI), what does the standard for health care facility ventilation already contain in the way of health metrics? How would a study look if it focused on the one metric that drives so many other decisions in health care? Let’s explore.
Mold concerns became highlighted in the 1920s, when commercial and military needs for safe storage and transport of supplies focused attention on preventing biological deterioration of materials.
Hotels and other high-rise buildings can easily develop indoor humidity issues if they don’t deal properly with the outside air component of their ventilation design. Reclaiming waste heat in a way that suits the circumstances can be a pivotal step toward correcting or avoiding such problems. With a Chicago condo as one example, learn to work through assorted benefits and caveats to reach the right fix.
In a sense, HVAC engineers are the physicians of the built environment because IAQ and water management determine the growth and transmission of microorganisms.
While travelling in Europe to the Indoor Air 2016 conference in Belgium, I had the opportunity to discuss a largely unspoken shift in the management of IAQ with a like-minded colleague, Dr. Walter Hugentobler from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
Ultraviolet C (UV-C) technology has been used since the 1990s to eliminate microbial buildup on cooling coils, air filters, duct surfaces, and drain pans. But despite the technology’s history and track record, some facility engineers remain uncertain. On the other hand, some come around quickly.