Many things have changed ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit many countries. In an instant, many lives were changed, affected, and some were lost, and now we are in the phase of adapting to the new normal that this viral disease brought upon us.
This pandemic has had an impact on every aspect of society. Many institutions were affected; many businesses were forced to close down, resulting in many workers losing their jobs, but the most affected ones are the healthcare system. Hospitals with not enough facilities and equipment to combat the impact of this viral disease are appalled. With not enough capacity, facilities, equipment, and with limited knowledge to compensate for the growing numbers of infected individuals.
But now that this pandemic is slowly easing into becoming an endemic disease, our healthcare systems are constantly finding ways to react and combat this pandemic, adapting to new techniques and equipment to become more resilient. Most hospitals have to separate COVID patients from non-COVID patients, which means bigger spaces will be needed but with the proper equipment that can accommodate the COVID patients and will not compromise the treatment for other non-COVID patients. Setting up different areas for COVID-19 patients is one of the most effective ways to control the transmission of the said disease. Creating drive-through testing facilities also helps reduce the contact between potential COVID patients with each other.
Hospitals with proper ventilation systems also help reduce the spread of this airborne disease. A research group in Europe found that proper ventilation methods and displacement of ventilation systems can reduce the risk of being exposed to airborne diseases such as COVID-19.
It is also great to consider while designing or updating some features of a hospital that there might be another pandemic coming, but they need to take into consideration that not all diseases have the same traits. Some may be airborne and some may not, some may need social distancing and some may not. The only way to create a holistic hospital design is to address all these issues, like how to reduce the transmission of airborne pathogens and surface contact contagion.
