Time is of the Essence for Hospital Design

By Sam Reed

The current COVID-19 crisis is not the first global pandemic; unfortunately, it will not be the last. Time is of the essence as new facilities are being constructed around the world, and existing facilities are being modified to meet current needs. Therefore it is crucial for these facilities to consider certain design guidelines in order to slow the spread of disease as much as possible—not only during the current pandemic, but in preparation for possible future incidents as well. The design of a hospital or health care facility accepting patients for treatment needs to be able to isolate presumed or confirmed positive individuals from staff and other patients. The entry site for these facilities is the first line of defense.

“Ideally, not only ‘suspected COVID-19’ patients, but all patients wishing to enter health care facilities, are being screened by medical staff who are protected with personal protective equipment, to determine if the patient has any symptoms that may indicate that the patient may have COVID-19,” says Samuel J. Reed, chief strategy officer/compliance officer at BSA LifeStructures. “Most commonly, temporary, tent-type facilities incorporate some type of temporary heat (depending only the medical facility location), referred to as Respiratory Care Centers or Forward Triage Areas, are being set up directly outside of hospital emergency rooms, ambulatory surgery centers, and immediate care centers. The purpose of the centers is to prevent someone who may or may not know that they have COVID-19 from entering the health care facility without proper precautions and unknowingly potentially contaminating other patients, family members and health care staff within the facility.”