Air Control in Hospitals

Abstract

In the not too distant past, hospital air control, as we know it today, existed neither in fact nor in principle. Reliance was placed on systems little more sophisticated than a central boiler for the provision of heat and the opening of windows for ventilation. While such an air handling configuration strikes us as being rather primitive, judgmental evaluation would vary with the socio-economic environment within which it was made. For example, a 1970 textbook dealing with the general topic of disinfection contains a chapter contributed by a prominent Russian authority on hospital disinfection in the Soviet Union. In emphasizing the importance of air hygiene, the author explains that wards are aired by the periodic opening of “fortochkas” which are small hinged window panes within the larger window. It is indicated that “fortochkas” are opened at least four times a day in the winter, and an effort is made to leave them open constantly during the spring and summer. It is indeed fortuitous that we are not assembled here today to ponder the proper balancing of “fortochka” openings.