In health care facilities, HVAC systems are designed to perform several tasks. They purify the air; cool, humidify, dehumidify, and pressurize the space; and exhaust air from the facility. The combination of these tasks immensely affects IAQ in the health care setting. If the outside air is not properly filtered, excessive dust from the outdoors is drawn into the building, which may result in poor IAQ. If the supplied air to the clinical spaces is not conditioned or heated satisfactorily, the hospital patients, staff, and visitors will experience thermal discomfort.
The concept of IAQ is especially important regarding the environments within health care facilities. The patients within the health care facility and the staff are all directly impacted by the quality of air in the building. An optimal health care space is one that enhances patients’ comfort and healing. IAQ plays an important role in this. Since 2012, patients’ comfort has also been tied to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) rating system and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) via patient surveys. These patient satisfaction surveys have resulted in many health care facilities being more vigilant in ensuring their facilities have better IAQ and reduced nosocomial infections.