Using Advanced Air Purification Technology In A Healthcare Facility

Figure 1. Environmental metrics associated with ambient air and surface purity. Study results by Stawicki et al.² for St. Luke’s University Health Network (Bethlehem, PA). Three “zones” of the same healthcare facility were delimited and evaluated; Zone C is the control floor, which is equipped with hospital standard ventilation and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration. Zone B is also equipped with standard hospital ventilation and HEPA filtration, but also receives return air from Zone A upon recirculation. Zone A is equipped with ventilation, HEPA filtration and an advanced air purification technology (AAPT), which consists of UV germicidal systems (UVGI) from LifeAire™. This figure shows the results of environmental (air and surface) sampling in different zones (A-B-C) of the hospital. Staffing and standard operating procedures (SOP) were similar for all 3 zones.

Figure 2. Discharge destination of hospital patients post-surgery. Non-bariatric surgical inpatients admitted to the St. Luke’s University Health Network (Bethlehem, PA), with a case mix index (CMI) included in their medical record, were evaluated according to the zones they were admitted to (N = 1002 patients). Zones are as described previously; Zone A is fitted with AAPT/UVGI systems, along with HEPA filtration, Zone B is fitted with HEPA and return air from Zone A, and Zone C is fitted only with HEPA filtration. Patient populations in different zones were well balanced, with no noticeable differences in distribution.

Figure 3. Patient metrics and outcomes by study zone. Inpatients from zones A, B and C, (St. Luke’s University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA) were compared for their hospital length-of-stay (HLOS) and hospital charges (HC). Data was provided by the hospital and analyzed by an independent third-party epidemiologist. Data is presented as a normalized ratio of control zone (Zone C).