ATLANTA – As a move toward a single consensus-based standard of care, a ventilation standard from ASHRAE and ASHE has been incorporated into the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, copyrighted by the Facility Guidelines Institute and published by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE).

ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170-2008, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities, defines ventilation system design requirements that provide environmental control for comfort, as well as infection and odor control.

According to the ASHE, the inclusion of Standard 170 in the 2010 edition of the guidelines replaces much of the ventilation material previously included. ASHE says the merger is intended to eliminate potential confusion by having two national ventilation standards for healthcare.

The guidelines are used by more than 42 states and several federal agencies to regulate healthcare facility design and construction around the United States, meaning that in some states Standard 170 is likely to be adopted into code as part of the guidelines.

“Congratulations to FGI and ASHE for their successful publication of the 2010 Edition of the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities,” said Rick Hermans, past chairman of the Standard 170 committee. “Standard 170 was developed and continues to evolve with the direct participation of members of the Health Guidelines Revision Committee, who are supported by FGI. Their efforts, along with the efforts of our partner ASHE, make the family of documents that offers guidance, regulation and mandates to designers of health care facilities closer than ever to the goal of a single consensus-based minimum standard of care."

"The marriage of the FGI Guidelines and Standard 170 is a testament to the cooperation of all parties over the last four years to bring this excellent document to publication,” he added.