Biorisk Management Features of a Temporary COVID-19 Hospital

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Infrastructure
• Infectious Disease Control
• Biocontainment Engineering

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid development of specialized healthcare facilities.
• Temporary field hospitals require stringent biocontainment measures for patient and staff safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct a temporary field hospital for 100 COVID-19 patients at Yale University.
• To ensure safe patient flow, staff operations, and regulatory approval from the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH).

Main Methods:

• Utilized Connecticut Department of Public Health (CT DPH) mobile hospital regulations as primary guidance.
• Incorporated design principles from National Institutes of Health (NIH) BSL-3/ABSL-3 and CDC Tuberculosis isolation rooms.
• Engaged a multidisciplinary team of experts for design and construction.

Main Results:

• Implemented conservative biocontainment strategies in design and operations.
• Verified HEPA filter efficacy and airflow balancing by external vendors.
• Validated decontamination units (BioQuell ProteQ, ClorDiSys UV-C) for biological safety.

Conclusions:

• The field hospital design successfully integrated biocontainment, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
• Developed a replicable blueprint for future field hospital construction and operation at Yale University.