This month’s editorial calendar centers on “High-Performance Health Care,” which got me thinking about the lessons the HVAC community learned after more than a year of health care sheltering in place. Each one of us probably has a family member or friend who was scheduled to visit a hospital in 2020, and, of course, no one was allowed to go with this person into the hospital due to COVID-19. From a health care acquired infection (HAI) point of view, this chronic problem associated with health care facilities most likely took a dip in HAI cases in 2020 when compared to 2019, but that research study hasn’t been taken yet.
Assuming my 2020 versus 2019 assessment is correct, why would there a dip in HAI cases? First off, there were less people coming and going into these facilities. Second, the facilities received extra attention by the operation and maintenance staff, housekeeping, and health care staff themselves. All of them were far more proactive in 2020 following standard cleaning and hygiene procedures than in the past, not to mention that stricter rules were put in place to combat COVID-19. Most important were the restrictions placed on visitors who were accompanying the individual who had scheduled the appointment.