4. Secure entrance/exit
Patients and deliveries enter the unit via a
secure set of air-locked double doors at the
primary entrance. A second pair of doors
into the vestibule will not operate until
the fi rst pair has closed. A keycard system
grants access only to authorized personnel.
5. Waste handling
Soiled materials, linens and lab samples
leave the unit through a separate exit
outfi tted with a specimen "dunk tank" and
pass-through autoclave. All soiled items are
placed in the autoclave, sterilized under
high-pressure steam, and then put in boxes
and hauled away to be incinerated. Lab
specimens are disinfected in the chemical
dunk tank before going to the hospital's
central lab.
6. Cleanability
The unit features washable walls and fl oor
surfaces designed to withstand repeated
cleansing with a bleach solution.
INFECTION CONTROL
ISSUE FOCUS
The main entrance to the BPCU is secured and
airlocked. The second door will not open until
the fi rst has been shut.
After being sanitized, soiled materials exit the
autoclave on the "clean" side. Then materials are
placed in boxes and taken offsite to be burned.
Right: Soiled materials are placed in the
autoclave and cleaned under high-pressure
steam before leaving the unit. A pass-through
dunk tank purifi es lab samples before they are
sent to the hospital's central lab.
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Medical Construction & Design | JA N UA RY/ F EBRUA RY 2015 | MCDM AG.COM