When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck, some of the “behind the scenes” first responders were engineers. Given our team’s work in healthcare design for clients such as Billings Clinic, Bozeman Health, and SLC Health/St. Vincent, our mechanical engineers were tasked with developing solutions for air circulation and ventilation in patient and operating rooms to prevent the spread of airborne infection. With so many unknowns about COVID-19, it was critical to provide areas where patients with the virus could be treated without risk of transmission to other areas of the hospital.

Shawn Murray, who leads our mechanical engineering group, shares some thinking and custom designs related to the conversion of a standard neutral-pressure room to negative-pressure.