Improving Safety At Urgent Care Facilities With Portable Air Conditioning

Urgent care facilities are an essential part of the healthcare system because they serve the needs of patients who require medical attention outside of an emergency room setting. Even a large center can fill up quickly with people who need help. One side effect due to the number of visitors that a certain location receives is less efficient cooling. There are several reasons why an urgent care facility might need to maintain a portable air conditioning unit during the summer or year-round.

Disease Treatment

A portable air conditioner can be used to help cool down a large area of an urgent care facility. This can be important because there are certain conditions like thyrotoxicosis and cardiac problems that can become worse under hot and humid conditions. Patients who have head injuries can potentially develop hyperthermia when a treatment room is not kept cool and ventilated. Portable air conditioning can be used in tandem with cooling services that are already in the facility or it can be a seasonal solution for busy and warm times of the year.

Preventing Dehydration

Patients who are arriving because of heat stroke or substance abuse can be treated and recover much more quickly in a cooled environment. A cool and dry facility can help to prevent dehydration in these patients and can make rehydrating severely ill people much easier. It can also help to have a portable air conditioner running in the lobby or waiting area so that patients who are waiting for a doctor will be more comfortable.

Fighting Contaminants

Portable air conditioning units can be used to supplement internal ventilation systems. This added power can remove contaminants from an entire large room or from several smaller rooms in a single area. This prevents airborne diseases from spreading and can reduce the amount of mold and fungus that is present inside of the building. This creates a more sanitary and controlled environment that can allow patients to recover more quickly.

Controlled Air Movement

A series of portable air conditioning units can be used in a large urgent care facility in order to isolate certain wards and to control the movement of air. This can be important with protective isolation and infection rooms. It can also be beneficial in buildings that must maintain different environments under the same roof, such as a burn ward that requires high humidity and warm temperatures. Separate cooling units that do not use a single central ventilation pathway can be much safer and more effective in a large facility.