Kent State University Design and Health Symposium: Designing for Infectious Diseases

Course Desciption

Due to recent events, the attention of the world is fixated on infectious diseases and our preparedness to manage infectious contagions at biosafety levels 2 through 4— in laboratories and in care areas. In the media, the focus has been on how these diseases spread and what preventative action people can take against transmitting them. Sales of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as the N95 respirators, and sanitizing agents have been in high demand, creating growing shortages that endanger the lives of those who need them the most. These measures, however, are only one component of a larger, more complex system that manages the containment of these diseases. This seminar, open only to health care providers and designers, will discuss how design impacts infection control, and will focus on systems, equipment and strategies that can be implemented in any hospital to address the concerns and increasing prevalence of infections contagions.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the impact of the COVID-19 spread on healthcare staff and their work, both from a physical and a mental perspective.
2. Recognize and identify the role of the physical environment in spreading, minimizing and/or containing COVID-19 and similar high-consequence infectious diseases.
3. Examine design strategies that help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 and similar airborne pathogens in healthcare environments.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the efficacy of short- and long-term interventions and strategies in healthcare facilities design to mitigate the spread of high-consequence
   infectious diseases.

The following courses are approved for 1 EDAC CEU credit each:

• The Role of Design During the COVID-19 Pandemic - presented by Bon Ku, Director of the Health Design Lab, Thomas Jefferson University
• Airborne Infectious Disease Mitigation and Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Design - presented by Jared Singer, Director, Prime AE Group, Inc.
• The Role of the Physical Environment in Health Care Facility Pandemic Response - presented by Jon Crane, SVP, Director, HDR