By George Miller

Construction subcontractors’ lack of awareness of their surroundings is perhaps one of the most frustrating issues, from a contamination control point of view, faced by health-care facility managers.

One example: “Information technology subcontractors will come in to string cable,” says Dennis Tremblay, senior scientist specializing in building and life safety issues at the environmental and engineering consultancy Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E; Needham, MA). “They start lifting ceiling tiles without regard for containment of the site.”

Tremblay, who is also fire safety manager at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston and a certified fire protection specialist, has penned the second release of the 2006 document Infection Control in the Healthcare Environment During Construction. In the document, he finds that it is possible to provide a “standardized and effective” infection control risk assessment (ICRA) program that causes a minimum of disruption in hospitals, which somehow always seem to be under construction. The key is a database that aids in program management by allowing all key personnel access to ICRA documents, and providing infection control training before contractors are allowed on site.

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