Construction company offers help to hospitals struck by SARS

If the SARS outbreak continues to intensify, particularly in southern Ontario, people will become increasingly concerned about being able to access hospitals. However, help has emerged from unexpected quarters.
A company that specializes in removing hazardous materials from construction sites is switching its focus to the medical industry following the outbreak of SARS in Ontario. Restoration Environmental Contractors of Brantford, Ontario do much of their work in removing asbestos, mould and lead paint from buildings during construction or under renovation.
However, they also specialize in infectious disease control. Now that hospital emergency rooms are facing a crisis in the Toronto area as people potentially infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) arrive for testing and treatment, the company is offering to supply individual portable negative air filtering scrubber units to hospitals. The units draw air from outside the emergency areas at a constant rate, filter it through high efficiency particulate aerosol (HEPA) filters, and vent it directly outside.
The units are installed in emergency rooms, examination rooms and intensive care units. Hospitals hard-pressed for space can quickly return a potentially infected room back into service, relieving long waiting times. In addition, the negative pressure stops the potential spread of airborne microbes to other areas of the hospital.