Environmental Inspection and Construction Project to Support Overflow of COVID-19 Patients

Hygieneering has been recently involved with a team of professional construction and MEP contractors as well as other state and federal agencies to support converting a former Hospital in the Chicagoland Suburbs into a temporary overflow facility to ease the COVID-19 cases in the area. The campus is to be used as an overflow site for non-acute hospital patients and possibly non-acute COVID-19 patients who do not require an ICU bed or other urgent care.

The existing building required support to identify potential mold and moisture issues, Indoor Air Quality and environmental concerns (asbestos and lead) to support the limited demolition and re-use of building systems and building materials. The facility had been previously vacated for over a year.

To support the project, Hygieneering, Inc. conducted a moisture survey and assessment to identify areas that may be of concern for microbial growth. This was done using visual inspection, moisture content readings and thermal imaging cameras to delineate areas of concern. Any identified areas were remediated using a professionally trained Mold and Microbial remediation contractor following current EPA and City of New York Guidelines.

Hygieneering also inspected and tested renovation impact areas for the presence of asbestos and lead paint with state licensed Building Inspectors and Risk Assessors to ensure that workers did not disturb regulated materials during this fast-moving project.