Improving Hospital Design for Better Infection Control

Flexibility also means being able to convert a room to a semi-private from a private area as needed

COVID-19 has forced nearly every industry to enhance safety protocols. Perhaps more than others, those working in construction are well-prepared for these changes. When constructing or renovating healthcare facilities, it’s critical to consider how factors like emergency management, patient flow, security, life safety and infection prevention and control affect and are affected by construction, and endeavor to minimize the impact work has on occupied spaces.

Design Choices That Reduce Disease Transmission
Infection control is one of the most important considerations for any hospital, as patients and staff both require a facility that is clean and safe. A hospital facility that is designed to support infection control makes the jobs of healthcare providers that much easier and, in many cases, may even save lives. A few of the ways architects can do this are through:

Antimicrobial Finishes and Materials.

Easy-to-sanitize or naturally germ-resistant materials and finishes make it easier to maintain the high level of cleanliness necessary in a hospital environment. Copper, for instance, has natural antimicrobial properties and greater use in touch surfaces could reduce microbe transmission. Any material or finish used in a hospital setting should be nonporous and nonreactive when exposed to common disinfectants such as bleach, alcohol, and ammonium compounds.

Increased Screening Areas.

Providing an area within the emergency department and the main public entry to a hospital to perform screenings through questionnaires and measurement of body temperature can help to sort out infectious patients. A pre-admission testing area can be located near the front door for the screening of outpatients coming in procedures or treatment. This allows hospital workers to catch highly contagious patients and isolate them or limit access to the facility.

Flexible Triage Areas.

Open spaces situated close to the hospital entrance can act as pop-up triage areas during an outbreak. Equipping these areas with plumbing and electrical access makes it possible to set up basic equipment to perform triage functions. Low-acuity patients can be sent to one area, highly contagious patients may be placed in negative-pressure isolation rooms, and patients needing immediate care can be taken to the emergency department.

Hand Wash/Sanitizer Stations.

Placing hand wash stations or hand sanitizer dispensers at doors and entrances as well as inside treatment rooms near beds can encourage staff to use them on a more frequent basis. Performing an analysis of the building’s layout for other conspicuous locations to place hand washing stations is also recommended to reduce microbe transmission.

Thoughtful Air Management Systems.

Natural ventilation and high-level filtration systems should be designed to keep fresh air coming in while preventing airborne germs from being recirculated throughout the facility. Although isolation rooms are on a separate negative exhaust system, consideration should be given to further isolate ICUs and Nursing Units on their own systems.

While these design decisions should ideally be made before a building is constructed, some changes, such as upgrades to materials and the addition of motion sensors to doors and sinks, can be implemented through renovations to existing facilities. These modifications can then be thoughtfully adapted in future hospital designs for better infection control.