Vents at Health Sciences Centre are added precaution
Units filter air, prevent spread of airborne diseases
Anyone visiting the Health Sciences Centre lately may have noticed that several windows have been removed, and in their place is wood with holes cut for ventilation equipment.
Four can be seen from the main parking lot just underneath the green hospital symbol, and a few can also be seen from Prince Philip Drive.
“Some windows at the Health Sciences Centre have been removed to allow for the temporary installation of negative-pressure units,” an Eastern Health spokesperson explained in an email to The Telegram.
Negative-pressure units control the movement of air, and are often used during construction to control the movement of dust and other airborne contaminants.
They are also used for negative-pressure isolation rooms at the hospital. Most of the units installed at the Health Sciences Centre are in relation to the isolation rooms, though a few are related to ongoing construction activities.
According to an emailed statement from Eastern Health, a negative-pressure isolation room is a patient room designed to help prevent airborne diseases from escaping the room and infecting other people. A negative-pressure unit pulls air into the room and filters the air before moving it outside.
The spokesperson said additional negative-pressure spaces were added as a precautionary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the Health Sciences Centre on Tuesday, The Telegram counted several windows that were replaced with wood, and roughly 20 holes in the wooden window replacements.