Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-93-0845-2367: Providence Ambulatory Health Care Foundation, Inc., Allen Berry Health Care Center; Providence, Rhode Island

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burton, Nancy C.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Providence Ambulatory Health Care Foundation (SIC-8011), Providence, Rhode Island, the ventilation system at the Allen Berry Health Care Center was evaluated for suitability for preventing tuberculosis transmission. The system was operated in the automatic mode which meant that, if the temperature setpoints were met, no additional supply air entered the system to the examination rooms and the laboratory. Standing water was found in two of the units. Microbial growth was observed in the condensate pans under the air conditioning coils. Poor maintenance of the low efficiency fiberglass particulate filters was noted. One of the thermostats controlling the units was functioning improperly. Although the clinic had a tuberculin screening program for clients, there was no screening program for employees. The author concludes that there were deficiencies in the ventilation system which could potentially increase the risk of tuberculosis transmission. The author recommends that these deficiencies be corrected, and the tuberculosis control program in place at the clinic be strengthened.
• Subjects:
  Bacterial Infections Communicable Diseases Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Tuberculosis Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Bacterial-infections Hazard-Confirmed Health-care-facilities HETA-93-0845-2367 Infection-control Infectious-diseases NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Offices And Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine OSHA Region 1 Respiratory-system-disorders TB Tuberculosis Ventilation Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9308452367
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Rhode Island ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  14 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Sylvain, David C.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00218671
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-162963
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 93-0845-2367, 1993 Nov ; :1-17
• Editor(s):
  Blythe, Ellen E.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8011 - Offices & clinics of medical doctors - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:873c00134b596a57b26dbb6e1e3d2711434f11b8100fa9a2a36880c9b87112ac42f54e509acdff0625b7be96da0ae110a1c291b332208637ec287c8129b7cf5b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171424/cdc_171424_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 196.06 KB ]