After much discussion and research, hospital officials sought to create an effective barrier between medical equipment and its patients. To successfully produce a solution to its problem, the hospital enlisted the services and products of global firestop specialist Hilti. A life safety engineer initially reached out to the commercial construction manufacturer through AskHilti.com, an online education and discussion forum between customers and Hilti's engineering team.
"We use Hilti products throughout the hospital," comments Bryan Costa, an engineer on staff at Riverside. "For running new data cabling through existing smoke and fire walls, you can't beat the Hilti Firestop Speed Sleeve. We found that we can also use that same firestop sleeve to run ventilator tubing and cables through the patient room walls."
The Hilti CP 653 Firestop Speed Sleeve is designed to be integrated into a firestopping system to address the specific needs of specialized cabling environments. The sleeve's simple twist mechanism results in industry-leading airflow control, notes Hilti. This effect helps facility managers reduce the spread of potentially harmful airborne pathogens.
Inside the wall sleeve, the inner fabric liner twists close for a custom fit around the cables. Although not designed to hermetically seal openings, it does effectively help restrict the passage of air, an essential factor for life safety in facilities.
The wall sleeve installation in Virginia allowed hospital engineers to position ventilators and IV pumps outside patient rooms, reducing the potential exposure of COVID-19 to its healthcare workers. This also enabled the medical team to monitor ventilators more effectively, with less downtime and more efficiency.
Additionally, hospital officials say the installation has helped them save protective gear, another crucial need to help reduce the spread of the virus.
"Equipment safely placed outside a room reduces the need to wear personal protective equipment, helping us conserve our supply," says Robert Maynard, Business Process Improvement Manager at Riverside. "It's a thinking-outside-the-box type of concept. The Firestop Sleeve is designed to seal around the wires, stopping airflow between the two spaces. It works very well," adds Maynard, who is also a licensed registered respiratory therapist with many years working in critical care. "It can reduce trips into a patient's room."
