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Healthcare Facilities

Evidence-Based Healthcare Facility Design Creates Sustainable Infection Control
Friday, July 10, 2009

According a recent article on MSNBC.com, 40 percent of nearly 2,000 hospital infection workers responding to a professional association survey reported being hit by budget cuts in the last 18 months, primarily due to the state of the economy. The cuts result in layoffs, reduced hours, hiring freezes and diminished ability to detect, track and manage infections that cost money. In fact, every new hospital-acquired infection adds an average of $15,275 dollars in additional costs to patient care. Designing hospitals and healthcare clinics from the beginning using evidence-based design tactics and recommendations from infection control professionals will assist facilities to cope better with infection prevention, with or without a recession.

Even if the economy sags, hospitals should be able to provide the same quality of care as when the economy is booming; in the end, a life is a life. Reforming the healthcare system is a hot topic for both government leaders and healthcare administrators. While a solid solution seems to be in the making, designing a healthcare facility with infection control elements makes infection prevention sustainable and not dependent on the state of the economy. The CDC recommends several tactics to incorporate during a new healthcare facility project:

  • Healthcare infection control experts should work directly with architects, engineers and construction workers to educate them about potential infection risks and appropriate methods for reducing them.
  • As part of the planning process for construction of a new facility, an infection control risk assessment should be conducted to determine the potential risk for transmission of microorganisms within the hospital, especially focusing on air, water and environment mediums.
  • Wall coverings should be fluid resistant and easily cleaned
  • Finishings around plumbing fixtures should be smooth and water resistant
  • Pipe penetrations and joints should be tightly sealed
  • Avoid acoustical tiles in high-risk areas, because they may support microbial growth when wet
  • Walls and ceilings should have smooth, impervious surfaces that are easy to clean with minimal likelihood of dust accumulation
  • Each patient room, examination room and procedure room needs at least one sink that is as close the entrance as possible and large enough to prevent splashing

Evidence-based design features as recommended by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to implement during new construction to prevent infection spread include:

  • Private, acuity-adaptable patient rooms
  • High quality air filters to reduce the spread of airborne infections

 

 

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