Before a construction or renovation project begins at any active
healthcare facility, a tremendous amount of planning must be
involved. The part of the planning process that I think is important to
our facility would be understanding the infection risks. In a healthcare
facility that is active with patients and staff, it is important for
everyone to be aware where construction will take place and the
materials used that may be of risk to the patients and staff. Disease
outbreaks have been associated with construction and renovation in
hospitals. This trend started in the decade of the 1970s and continues
to date. In one of the earliest case studies, five fungal infection cases
were investigated and compared to a control group. Results of
autopsy confirmed invasive Aspergillus and invasive zygomycosis in
the case of patients who were hospitalized during construction at the
hospital, indicating that construction was an independent risk factor
(Mousavi,2019). The construction companies will need to meet with
hospital administrators to discuss ways that risk of infection from
debris and other items will be controlled. Some topics that need to be
discussed are how long the project will take, what areas will be
affected, plans for containment of hazardous waste, PPE being used
by the workers, and cleanup procedures (Touchstone & Blum, 2011).
The goal is to minimize disruption to the patients, staff and day to day
activities of the healthcare facility. You also want to make sure that
patients and staff are protected from short term or long term effects
of hazardous waste products.
References
Mousavi, E. S., & Bausman, D. (2020). Renovation in Hospitals: Pressurization Strategies
by Healthcare Contractors in the United States. HERD: Health Environments Research &
Design Journal, 13(1), 179–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586719861557
Touchstone, R., & Blum, F. (2011, June 7). 5 Healthcare Construction Best Practices for
Occupied Healthcare Facilities. Retrieved from Becker's Hospital Review:
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/5-
healthcare-construction-best-practices-for-occupied-healthcare-
facilities.html?oly_enc_id=7854I7992423G4L
