Undergoing renovation and expansion leads to a hospital reconsidering its critical environment monitoring for the present and the future. The medical facility in question was looking for room pressure monitors that would meet existing and any new codes and guidelines released in upcoming years. They didn't want to install room pressure monitors to be only minimally code compliant; rather, they were looking to meet requirements and monitor many ASHRAE Standard 170 spaces that don't strictly require monitors. Monitoring is crucial for proper cleanliness conditions, and the Joint Commission and CMS inspectors tend to scrutinize all ASHRAE 170 pressurized spaces.

We recently interviewed one of our sales managers about the Setra Lite. He answered some of the most common questions around this innovate product.

Hospitals and other critical environments contain several spaces that require pressurization. Highly critical spaces require full environmental room monitoring. However, a number of other spaces still require pressurization but do not require a room monitor. According to ASHRAE Standard-170, spaces like this include:

For a hospital to be compliant with ventilation guidelines (such as ASHRAE Standard-170), proper pressurization must be maintained in several spaces. Some of these spaces, like a linen closet, call for pressurization but do not require monitoring beyond a simple tissue test inspection.

Operating rooms (ORs) are among the most thoroughly regulated spaces in a hospital. As a room where patients are particularly at risk of contracting an airborne infection, patient safety is a priority. A successful surgery relies on both the skill of medical professionals and the integrity of the space. Controlling this critical environment with the proper equipment keeps patients protected from contagions.

Hospitals face a number of daunting tasks each day without also having to worry about the performance of the equipment on which they rely. The particular medical facility in question experienced abundant issues related to the products they employed. A lack of after-sale support combined with the unsophisticated UI of room pressure monitors and the vendor's reluctance to partner with the facility's BMS controls engineers escalated into long-term compatibility obstacles with the other networked devices. Coming up against these issues led the facility to realize they needed simple and intuitive customizable features that didn't require specialized programming knowledge to set up. In addition to all these issues related to room pressure monitors, they were searching for a solution to make their compounding pharmacy USP 800 compliant with regular particle counting, which they define as an interval of once every 15 minutes.

To continue operating, a critical environment must meet many safety standards to keep their space free of harmful particles. If an environment is not monitored, it can be easily contaminated by harmful particles such as mold. Air sampling is one of the most common ways to monitor for - and thus prevent - mold. Viable and non-viable air sampling can be employed in detecting mold and other harmful particles in the air. Not monitoring for those particles can lead to disaster.

USP 797 revisions were published on June 1, 2019. The clarity and readability of documentation is a concern for all facilities and significantly impacts those who compound both hazardous and non-hazardous drugs or those who administer CSPs. The revisions to USP 797 reflect new science and evidence based on updated guidance documents, best practices, and new learnings. 

One of the greatest fears in the general population is the rapid spread of infectious disease. While there are many strategies employed to prevent these infectious diseases from becoming an outbreak, the only way to treat patients without risking the spread of disease is through the use of isolation rooms. Isolation rooms are designed to prevent contaminated particles from spreading beyond a quarantined area by ensuring air is exhausted from the room and filtered through a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter before it is vented outside of the building.

Monitoring critical environments - such as cleanrooms, operating rooms, and compounding pharmacies - is paramount to maintain safety and remain compliant with regulatory standards. In these critical spaces, it is often required to monitor multiple environmental parameters.