ALAMOSA — Negative pressure rooms are used in hospitals and medical clinics to prevent the spread of contagious illnesses from one area to another. Air is pumped out of the treatment area, creating a negatively pressured space so, for example, when a door is opened into that space from, say, the lobby, the air rushes in, instead of out. The air that is pumped out of the affected space passes through a series of three filters, ending with a HEPA (high-efficiency particular air) filter, which gives the same degree of filtration as an N95 mask.

In the Respiratory Clinic at the San Luis Valley Health (SLVH) Stuart Avenue Clinic in Alamosa, providers and nurses have successfully screened the majority of the patients to home-care so they do not need to enter the facility. Of those who are cared for in the clinics and hospitals, all of the patients wear masks, along with the SLVH employees who are caring for these patients.

Recently, using some innovative engineering from SLV Health’s construction partner, PHIPPS, along with the skills of the facility crew at SLV Health, the SLVH Regional Medical Center tripled the number of negative pressure rooms to 13 and added one at the Stuart Ave Clinic. The SLVH RMC Emergency Department has two negative pressure rooms and there are two at the SLVH Conejos County Hospital in the Emergency Department.