Current views of health care design and construction: Practical implications for safer, cleaner environments

Infection preventionists (IP) play an increasingly important role in preventing health care-associated infection in the physical environment associated with new construction or renovation of health care facilities. The Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Healthcare Facilities, 2010, formerly known as “AIA Guidelines” was the origin of the “infection control risk assessment” now required by multiple agencies. These Guidelines represent minimum US health care standards and provide guidance on best practices. They recognize that the built environment has a profound affect on health and the natural environment and require that health care facilities be designed to “first, do no harm.” This review uses the Guidelines as a blueprint for IPs' role in design and construction, updating familiar concepts to the 2010 edition with special emphasis on IP input into design given its longer range impact on health care-associated infection prevention while linking to safety and sustainability. Section I provides an overview of disease transmission risks from the built environment and related costs, section II presents a broad view of design and master planning, and section III addresses the detailed design strategies for infection prevention specifically addressed in the 2010 Facility Guidelines Institute edition.