Upper-room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI): What You Need to Know Before Buying

and   |  May 5, 2022

Heightened interest in indoor air quality is coming from all corners of public and environmental health, including the CDC and the White House, creating a renewed focus on alternative methods for “air cleaning” or disinfection technologies. Improving indoor air quality is a worthwhile goal, but implementation must be done carefully and without harm. Generally, the...
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Evaluating Waterborne Pathogen Risks for a Stronger Water Management Plan

  |  April 21, 2022

Having an effective water management program has proven critical for minimizing patient exposure to a wide range of dangerous waterborne pathogens. In fact, one CDC study found that approximately 21% of HAIs can be transmitted via water. However, many hospitals have struggled with the development and implementation of a comprehensive water management program. Pathogens include...
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Air Tracing Studies: A Simple Strategy to Assess Infection Pathways

  |  February 10, 2022

Preventing hospital acquired infections remains an ongoing battle for many healthcare infection prevention and facilities management teams. Fortunately, new tools and strategies continue to emerge to help experts address potential infection risks. One such tool is an air tracing study, which identifies the pathways that infectious organisms can travel from their source to a compromised...
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Ventilation Tips to Reduce the Spread of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities during the Winter Holiday

and   |  December 16, 2021

For the second holiday season the US is experiencing an escalation in COVID-19 cases. This presents cause for concern for long-term care facilities that anticipate an increase in visitors during the holidays. On top of this, colder winter temperatures mean facilities may not have the option to open windows to improve ventilation or to hold...
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Commissioning is Critical to Validating Containment in the Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) Environment

  |  November 3, 2021

Design standards, biosafety level criteria, and performance requirements are continually evolving to keep pace with the rapidly changing technologies used in Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratories. For BSL-3 laboratory mechanical systems, the ventilation and specific design features are vital to containment and protecting workers, the community, and critical research. Commissioning is an essential risk management strategy...
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Boston’s healthcare greenhouse gas emissions cut by 18% in 9 years despite growth

  |  September 14, 2021

The United States is the world’s highest emitter of healthcare greenhouse gases (GHG), accounting for 27% of the global healthcare footprint.1 Climate change impacts a wide range of health outcomes from asthma and cardiovascular disease to malnutrition and heat-related illness and deaths.2 Healthcare has the opportunity, and obligation, to promote the health of the community...
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Compliance with The Joint Commission’s New Water Management Standard Relies on Risk Assessment

  |  September 13, 2021

Most healthcare facility managers already have in place a water management plan that outlines control measures for mitigating the risk of waterborne pathogens. Despite this, many of those same facility managers find themselves struggling with how to implement these plans in line with The Joint Commission’s (TJC) new water management program standard for the Hospital...
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