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117 JULY : AUGUST 2016 — COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION types participated in the survey. There has been an increasing growth in patient involvement in relation to the process of designing a hospital. More than half of the voters (63 percent) said they included patients and/or the community in the design process. A hospital is intended to provide support and services to the community it serves, so it's important for hospitals to understand what patients, medical professionals and visitors feel are important to their design needs. Many hospitals are focusing on expansions or renovations rather than new construction. A large reason for this conversion is due to the high cost of new construction for outdated hospital facilities. The average cost of a construction project is around $400 per square foot, while in New York City the cost is a high amount of $1,200 per square foot. Hospitals are looking to reduce costs when updating their facilities and implementing expansions and/or renovations is an effective solution. Many of the expansions and/or renovations for hospitals focus on adding ambulatory care projects, emergency departments and surgery divisions, and the transition from standard patient rooms to critical care beds. To improve an existing hospital, the top efficient categories of equipment that are replaced or upgraded were air handlers and ventilation systems. Hospitals have to maintain a sterilized environment to decrease the amount of exposure patients may receive to any con- taminants. Other types of technology that are upgraded are nurse call systems, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, security systems and patient FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION a hospital to implement a ventilation system that provides controlled circulation in order to maintain the air quality. Negative Air Pressure Rooms Negative air pressure systems usually are utilized in hospital rooms that serve to contain any form of contaminants from patients in the room. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established certain guidelines that healthcare facilities should adhere to when installing or upgrading air handling units. Isolating these harmful contaminants, such as bacteria and viruses decreases the chance of individuals in other rooms coming in contact with any germs and becoming infected. Hospital rooms that usually contain negative air pressure include ER waiting rooms, airborne infection isolation rooms, restrooms, radiology waiting rooms, janitors' closets and autopsy rooms. Negative air pressure rooms allow air to flow into the room, but won't let any air escape the room. Positive air pressure rooms, such as operating rooms, are the opposite of negative pressure rooms and allow air to flow out of the room. Current Design & Construction Trends The "2016 Hospital Construction Survey" was conducted by Health Facilities Management to get a better insight on activities occurring within the healthcare industry. Approximately 200 hospitals of various $1.00 EACH 24x36 30x42 36x48 FULL SIZE BLACK & WHITE PLANS $0.50 EACH 15x22 17x22 18x24 HALF SIZE BLACK & WHITE PLANS $3.50 EACH 11x17 12x18 HALF SIZE COLOR PLANS $14.00 EACH 22x34 24x36 FULL SIZE COLOR PLANS Attention Contractors! Save Money on YOUR Plans With PLANS4LESS CIRCLE NO. 55