J.D. McCarty Center

PROJECT PURPOSE

During the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, OMES reached out to J.D. McCarty Center to inform us that a state vendor would be inspecting the hospital to identify upgrades to our current HVAC and air filtration systems to better serve our inpatients and staff throughout the pandemic. We had previously reached out to a different vendor to have our system inspected and receive a proposal for HVAC upgrades. We placed our vendor on hold and participated in the state program and was informed any upgrades that occurred would be covered by CARES ACT money. After months of waiting, we were informed the state HVAC upgrade program was not implemented due to the lack of CARES ACT money available. The hospital immediately re-initiated the project with our vendor and has the money to provide basic upgrades to our HVAC/Air filtration systems. We are seeking additional money to upgrade the hospitals current project to include HEPA filters throughout the hospital units creating the safest environment possible for our inpatients and staff.

EVIDENCE

The Coronavirus 19 virus has been identified as an airborne virus. If the hospital is supported in our proposed HEPA filter upgrade, the hospital units will meet the highest standard of clean air flow. Achieving the highest and cleanest air flow rating is significant since our current hospital units are designed as congregate living areas for the patient?s we serve i.e. one dining area, living area, shared bathrooms, etc. The addition of the HEPA filters will significantly impact the environmental quality provided to our patients creating the safest environment for children with significant medical needs who are at increased risk for serious complications to include death with virus exposure.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

J.D. McCarty Center serves children from all counties of the state. Children with special needs and their families have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Specialized medical and therapeutic services have been limited throughout the pandemic. In many instances, children with special needs have lost ground in their functional capabilities or just maintained. Intense evaluation and treatment plan development will be needed for a number of children with complex medical and developmental needs in these upcoming years. Providing the safest environment for these kids to receive care is this hospital?s priority.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Project performance for this program will be measured through the hospital?s Quality Assurance Performance Improvement Program. The hospital will monitor the healthcare associated infection (HAI) rate for inpatients and compare these rates against the hospital?s historical HAI rate to assist in determining the effectiveness of the HEPA filtration project. The hospital will also collect data regarding employee infections and the number of sick leave days used by patient care staff. The data will be compared to the hospital?s historic employee health data to determine any savings realized due to decreased usage of sick leave days by patient care staff.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

One-time project will not need continued funding