The most important practice for an organization’s capital plan to be
successful is for the contractor to understand the importance of
infection control and risk assessment requirements. Infection control
is extremely important in hospitals, and something that everyone is
responsible for. Preventable conditions that a patient develops costs
U.S. hospitals around $28.4 billion annually. A large part of this is that
hospitals do not receive reimbursement on hospital acquired
conditions. If we do not educate our contractors on proper hygiene,
appropriate filtration, personal protective equipment (PPE),
appropriate cleaning procedures (Touchstone, 2011), and much more,
we could see a rise in hospital acquired infections (HAIs). This,
obviously, negatively impacts our patients, but also adds unforeseen
additional costs (AHRQ, 2022).
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2022). AHRQ
tools to reduce hospital-acquired conditions.
https://www.ahrq.gov/hai/hac/tools.html#:~:text=Hospital%2DAcqu
ired%20Conditions%20(HACs),conditions%20cause%20harm%20to
%20patients.
Touchstone, R. (2011). 5 Healthcare construction best practices for
occupied healthcare facilities. Becker’s Hospital Review.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-
administration/5-healthcare-construction-best-practices-for-
occupied-healthcare-facilities.html
