Use Of Portable Fans

[doc7592]

Can anyone tell if they use fans in their hosipital? We use box fans here and are expexted to clean them return to service. We only wipe diwn the outside.
What are you guys doing. From an infection control stand point I would not allow them to be used in a hospital setting (blowing germs around):eek: .
If you have a policy please share. AAMI ST46 says that they can't be used in Central.
Thanks in advance.

[Harvey Johnson]

Do you mean for patient room use?
Yes, we pick them up on rounds, clean them, then to materials for redistribution.
Do you mean for use in SPD?
Big NO - NO !!
If the temp and air exchanges in SP are not sufficient to keep employees comfy, then a stat work order should be submitted to engineering to correct the situation! (ya, I know good luck with that!:rolleyes: )

[barrhelv]

when we cleaned the fans;; we would wipe down the outside but also took them apart to get at the fuzz did not do anything to the motor just wiped the fan blades and the inside.

[sonny1388]

We have heater/AC units in all of the patient rooms....like you get in a motel. Guess that's a perk of being in a newer hospital!

[p875]

Yes we use portable fans and we have heater/AC units in all of our rooms too but they are used for patients with CHF and COPD who feel like they can not get enough air--they are pedestal fans --they are picked up in the dirty utility rooms and broken down and cleaned --you can get them with a removable fan guard and the blades can be removed for cleaning also,we take a suction to the motor vents each time to remove any dust that might collect there.

[katheran]

This is an issue, I was trying to resolve. What about the use of portable fans in a hospital. Is it an infection control problem? How do we solve the problem? One suggestion is to sell small individual fans to those that request a fan. It goes home with the patient, thus eliminating the infection control issue.

[cpdguy]

AAMI ST 79, Section 3.3.6.4,has a statement dealing with fans in the decontamination area. It is a no,no. I hope this helps

[doc7592]

Our fans are the box type for PT use, not SPD. We don't have the time or the personnel to break down and put together fans. Also are your techs electricians?

[davidds91]

Doc7592,
Good point. The VA SPD Techs don not have anything to do with fans of any kind. And in order to break one down, you need to be some kind of electrical or mechanical technician. They are prohibited by VA handbook 7176 and are not to be used anywhere in SPD.