What Rooms Require Health Care Ventilation Testing?
Air change rates and room pressure standards are based on each room’s usage and the facility’s type and age. Generally, requirements stipulate that air flows from clean to less-clean areas. The overriding goal is to protect patients and workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals and pathogens.
The experienced technicians at Evergreen Medical are available to test ventilation in a variety of health care settings. If areas within your facility do not meet the ventilation requirements, then we will help you get those areas into compliance. We test the following areas:
- Negative pressure isolation rooms (also called Airborne Infectious Isolation or AII rooms)
- Operating rooms
- Autopsy rooms
- Microbiology rooms
- Chemotherapy prep rooms
- Nuclear medicine rooms
- Soiled utility rooms
- Sterile processing department (central sterile areas)
- … and other rooms as applicable
How is Medical Facility Ventilation Testing Performed?
We measure the following:
- Air change (air exchange) rates
- Relative room pressure at every door
- Air supply and air return/exhaust flow (CFM)
- Total supply and total exhaust
- Total volume of the room
Your Evergreen technician then compares air change rates and positive/negative pressure results to the standards developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). These standards are also included in those set forth by the Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI), an authoritative source for guidance on health care facility planning, design and construction in the United States.
Ventilation Testing Documentation
After completion of the health care ventilation testing, Evergreen provides you with an easy-to-understand report of our findings from each room as well as a CAD room drawing that allows you to quickly identify which registers are underperforming. Our detailed report also documents all deficiencies and provides the facts you need to adjust the ventilation and bring every room into compliance. Evergreen Medical works with your facility personnel to adjust the ventilation and undertakes retesting to document that compliance has been achieved.
Our comprehensive room pressure testing is just one of the many environmental monitoring services we offer. Our clients trust our expertise when it comes to on-site chemical monitoring, anesthetic vaporizer accuracy testing, badge monitoring and more. With our complete capabilities at your side, you can ensure the safest possible environment for staff and patients, as well as full compliance with any relevant regulations or accreditations. Click here to learn more about our services.