When it comes to ensuring the safety and comfort of patients, staff, and visitors, healthcare facilities’ climate control is vital.
Medical facilities, such as hospitals, surgery centers, urgent care facilities and doctors’ offices have unique heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) requirements and regulations not found in other commercial buildings. The indoor air quality, humidity and temperature all need to be carefully balanced all day, every day to help reduce the risk of infection, keep supplies sterile, and help reduce stress on patients and staff.
Maintaining optimal environmental conditions is no easy task, especially when bad weather strikes or equipment breaks down. That’s where backup or temporary climate control solutions come in. In this article, you’ll learn seven key ways temporary climate control solutions can help your healthcare facility.
The Importance of Healthcare Facilities’ 24/7 Climate Control
Medical facilities are heavily regulated buildings that need to stay operational around the clock to serve vulnerable populations, especially during natural disasters or other times of crisis, such as a pandemic. They also contain sensitive equipment, chemicals and other materials that can pose health and safety hazards if environmental conditions aren’t well maintained.
Why Maintaining Healthcare Environmental Conditions Is Challenging
Unfortunately, just like with any other building, there are going to be times when the power goes out, equipment breaks down, or construction and renovations interrupt normal operations. This can be particularly challenging for healthcare facilities because:
- Different areas have different climate control needs. Laboratories and isolation rooms have more specific humidity and ventilation requirements than lobbies or staff offices. If the entire facility loses HVAC or power, a variety of backup solutions will be needed to ensure that each space maintains its own specific requirements.
- Constant HVAC uses a lot of resources. The need for constant climate control is part of why the average hospital uses more than twice the amount of energy as other commercial buildings. Even small outpatient facilities with limited business hours may contain equipment or supplies that need HVAC systems to run 24 hours a day. The right temporary solutions can provide additional flexibility to help keep the facility running efficiently.
- Healthcare facilities are heavily regulated. From building codes, to infection control standards, to manufacturer instructions for storage, there’s a hierarchy of regulations that medical facilities need to comply with. Adding HVAC redundancies can help ensure compliance even in the event of an outage or emergency. Medical facilities managers need to have climate control support waiting in the wings as downtime sourcing equipment isn’t an option. It’s clearly important to plan for potential disruptions to patient care, medication storage, laboratory refrigeration or other essential services.
7 Ways Temporary Climate Control Solutions Help Healthcare Facilities
Renting backup climate control equipment can help your facility maintain the proper temperature, humidity, ventilation or air quality. Rental solutions can ensure properly controlled environments even in the event of a renovation, equipment failure or power outage. By planning ahead, you can make sure your facility has the right equipment to achieve the following items.
1. Support Infection Control Efforts
Infection control is a top priority of any hospital or medical facility, and HVAC plays a crucial role in any facility’s infection control protocol. Continuous airflow and proper filtration and ventilation helps dilute the number of viruses and bacteria in the air. Additionally, maintaining proper hospital temperature requirements and humidity can help stop the microbial growth. Adding equipment such as desiccant dehumidifiers or portable air conditioning in healthcare facilities can help manage temperatures and remove excess moisture.
2. Mitigate Airborne Contaminants
Healthcare facilities with operating rooms and laboratories tend to have more volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and airborne contaminants than other facilities. For example, a surgeon may need to cut into bone or use an electrosurgical device to stop bleeding, both of which will produce airborne contaminants such as smoke or other biological material. Likewise, renovations will produce dust that needs to be kept far away from patients and sensitive equipment. Adding ventilation solutions or portable air scrubbers can help reduce dust, fumes and other harmful airborne substances.
3. Reduce Patient Stress and Promote Healing
When a patient is ill or injured, not only are they emotionally stressed, but it can also be harder for them to regulate their body temperature. This increased stress makes it more difficult to recover comfortably. Additionally, the relative humidity of a room can either help or exacerbate symptoms, especially respiratory symptoms. Therefore, each patient room needs individualized climate control to support comfort and keep spaces as conducive to healing as possible. In the event of a central HVAC system outage, portable heating and cooling units may be necessary to keep patients comfortable.
4. Boost Staff Productivity
An operating room tends to feel colder than other parts of a hospital. One reason for this is to ensure the comfort and productivity of the operating room staff. They have to wear extra layers of personal protective equipment (PPE) for long periods of time and work in close quarters with their team and surgical equipment that can get quite warm. Providing solutions to reduce heat stress and discomfort will help keep staff focused on providing quality care.
5. Keep Equipment and Supplies in Top Condition
Hospital temperature and humidity can also have a significant impact on equipment and supplies. If the air is too dry, there may be a greater risk for sparks and igniting certain chemicals. If the temperature is too high, sensitive electrical equipment may overheat and fail or food can spoil. Excessive humidity could impact the packaging of sterile supplies, making them no longer sterile. Be sure to review all manufacturer guidelines to identify acceptable temperature and humidity ranges. Adding HVAC and dehumidification redundancy to an environment built to maintain temperature and relative humidity can help save the facility the hassle and cost of wasted supplies or equipment repair due to an outage.
6. Comply with Regulatory Requirements
Healthcare facilities have more regulations and guidelines to comply with than most commercial buildings. Hospital facilities management teams need to ensure that all proper HVAC and climate control measures are in place in order to comply with occupational safety standards, building codes, infection control protocols, emergency response guidelines and equipment manufacturer guidelines.
- Learn More: Resources for Healthcare Facilities from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
7. Enhance Visitor Comfort
Last, but not least, maintaining consistent and adequate climate control throughout your facility will also help keep visitors comfortable. This can be particularly important when families are being asked to make difficult decisions on behalf of a patient or when emotions are running high. If there is an HVAC outage in visitor areas, adding backup or portable HVAC solutions can help keep guests comfortable.
Types of Climate Control Solutions to Consider
Whether planning a hospital renovation or responding to an emergency weather event, temporary climate control solutions help manage temperatures in healthcare facilities. They also keep the hospital compliant, safe and functional. The following lists include common solutions specific to climate control. Don’t forget you may also need backup generators to run these machines in the event of a total power outage.
Heating and Cooling
- Portable hospital air conditioning units
- Spot coolers
- Air handlers
- Electric heaters
- Self-contained heaters
Ventilation and Air Filtration
- Portable air scrubbers
- HEPA filters and air purifiers
Humidity Control
- Desiccant dehumidifiers
- Drying fans
- Blowers
Rent Reliable Healthcare Facility Climate Control Solutions from Herc Rentals
Healthcare facilities can’t stop providing care and storing life-saving supplies if their main HVAC and climate control systems go down or prove to be inadequate. Herc Rentals is ready when you need backup climate control solutions for a planned renovation or an emergency response.
Herc Rentals offers a variety of specialized equipment rentals for emergencies and everyday needs, from temperature management solutions to dehumidifiers that can help your facility dry out after a flood.
Explore our wide range of cooling, heating, and air quality solutions or contact us to discuss options with an expert today.
