White Paper Details Infection Control Challenges Hospitals Must Address During Construction

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Hospitals and healthcare institutions are challenged to devise policies and procedures that allow construction projects to take place while maintaining Environment of Care (EC) standards. A free white paper that addresses these challenges is available for download at: http://www.eheinc.com/infectioncontrol.htm.

The white paper, "Infection Control in the Healthcare Environment During Construction," details the process required to establish hospital compliance with The Joint Commission while maintaining a high level of patient care services and critical institution functions.

The white paper will discuss the steps involved in ensuring infection control during hospital construction projects, including how to:

-- Create a construction oversight panel

-- Select which departments and personnel should be on the panel

-- Incorporate Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) elements into construction documents

-- Establish clear-cut project phases.

Authored by Dennis Tremblay, CFPS, a senior scientist at EH&E, a Needham, Mass.-based environmental, health, safety, and engineering consulting firm, the white paper is based on the experiences of EH&E personnel while working with leading hospitals and healthcare institutions nationwide.

This white paper reviews the applicable Joint Commission standards and American Institute of Architects (AIA) guidelines, and describes a field-tested, successful solution for maintaining Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) documentation.

Source: EH&E