Medical Construction & Design Magazine | HVAC & Infection Control

By Jerry McPhail, Vice President of Operations, Petra

Designing for effective infection control in healthcare facilities has to begin with an understanding of how infections spread, where the high-risk areas are in a facility and the operational and logistical need of the staff, patients and visitors.

There are a multitude of operational considerations to include in facility design that can have an effect on infection control, ranging from simple things like making cleaning easier, to waste containment and transport, to separation of spaces and people based on needs to minimize transmission.

From a physical space standpoint, there are three key areas of design elements to minimize transmission of infections in hospitals: HVAC systems, finish materials selection and the layout of the space itself (how and where elements are placed). More