From SARS CoV-1 2003 to SARS CoV-2 2019 – Part 10

Healthcare Leadership Strategies for a Better Future

Part 10 – Future Planning: Building Systems, Equipment and Technology

Since the end of 2019, the whole world experienced a global emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2003 another similar respiratory disease rattled the planet. Some regions, such as Canada, experienced higher rates of safety during the 2003 SARS pandemic and due to these disease similarities, the successful safety measures should be integrated into facility leaders’ COVID-19 plan of attack.

JPT is going to explore some of these safety measures that are beneficial in keeping your Healthcare Facility safe during COVID-19 by investing extra care into the future planning of your Building Systems, Equipment and Technology.

• Strategic master planning efforts should be created for flexible, innovative and integrated building systems
• Utilize cameras throughout the facility for everyday task performances such as remote equipment monitoring.
• Visual and graphic displays should be very apparent and include wayfinding, messaging and patient status.
• Everyday tasks can be simplified with the use of sensors, proximity, infrared, motion and more.
  • Implement touchless entry doors and other sensors for high-traffic interior doors
  • To avoid unnecessary touching of surfaces, use phone apps, voice, sensors, etc.
  • Switch vacancy sensors to occupancy sensors so no contact is deemed useless
• Place additional anti-bacterial receptacles strategically around the facility
• To alert staff of guests with high temperatures, utilize commercial human thermal scanning equipment at entry areas and other strategic locations
• Power systems and telecommunications systems should be established with built-in, automatic switching redundancies.
• Establish a telecommunications consistency plan.
• Establish telehealth and telemedicine options
• If an infected patient is recovering from COVID at home, they will need remote communication
• To help regulate the spread of viruses, implement management (tracking) and contact tracing
  • To help reduce the time needed for contact collection data, keep a record of your equipment such as where equipment is taken to and who has been in contact with the equipment
    • Add RFID or GPS tracking devices to equipment
    • Use software for an electronic sign in/out
• Create concepts that help adapt electrical and technological systems along with other efforts to minimize virus transmission
  • Implement a clear and simple process for staff to work remotely and access their work stations if possible
  • Consider a plan for resilient Wi-Fi and connectivity
  • Eliminate single points of failure in power and mechanical systems by developing an infrastructure analysis
• As a precursor to building artificial intelligence (AI) applications, aggregate sensors for big data capture and analytics

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a shift was seen in hospital design because everything now revolves around surge capacity, which is how healthcare facilities, and their staff, adapt inside their buildings when the number of sick patients increases substantially. That is why it is critical to have a plan when it comes to your facility’s Building Systems, Equipment and Technology.

Please check out the downloadable materials below that go along with JPT’s series titled “From SARS CoV-1 2003 to SARS CoV-2 2019: Healthcare Leadership Strategy for a Better Future”.

• The first downloadable item, which is this article’s feature, “Future Planning: Building Systems, Equipment and Technology”, contains information to help facility leaders to plan ahead and be flexible to adapt for what is to come next.
• The second downloadable item is JPT’s Executive Guide which contains the entire series of “From SARS CoV-1 2003 to SARS CoV-2 2019”. The detailed Executive Guide contains information on many aspects of facility maintenance to help contain the COVID-19 virus and many other pathogens transmitted through the respiratory system. This information helps to reduce the transmission of highly contagious diseases within a building, particularly hospitals and other medical facilities but this guide could be used as a safety measure for all types of commercial buildings.

See directly below to view or download “Part 10 – Future Planning: Building Systems, Equipment and Technology”.

See directly below to view or download the Executive Guide, “From SARS CoV-1 2003 to SARS CoV-2 2019: Healthcare Leadership Strategy for a Better Future”