Bioaerosols in Health-Care Environments PDF

The average U.S. health-care facility uses three to five times more energy than a comparable size office building. More than two-thirds of total energy consumption is dedicated to maintaining climate control and indoor air quality (IAQ). In spite of this, hospital acquired infections (HAIs) claim more than 90,000 lives and cost more than $28 to $45 billion each year. This article discusses a series of tests were conducted in an actual hospital to observe containment and removal of synthetic respiratory aerosols with respect to directional airflow and air change rate within a general patient room, an airborne infection isolation room and patient corridor.