The need for negative pressure rooms are putting stress on hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients, according to an article on the Infection Control Today website.
Nick Clements, PhD, a researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, hospitals should be prepared for at least a 300 percent to 500 percent increase in ICU and isolation room capacity.
Most hospitals have some form of negative pressure space but many facilities are having to quickly come up more places to keep the COVID patients safely isolated.
In a time crunch, a temporary isolation area can be set up surprisingly fast. Researchers from University of Colorado, Boulder and the VA’s National Center for Occupational Health and Infection Control got a temporary 30-bed negative pressure ward up and running in less than an hour.