St. Mary’s Hospital for Children Is the First to Receive Certification through Metrics-Based Evaluation
Dunedin, FL – SecureAire Technologies, a national leader in indoor air quality (IAQ) technology, today launched the AireWellness program to certify buildings that meet the highest standards for indoor air quality. The first recipient of AireWellness certification is St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Queens, NY, which reduced hospital acquired infections by 45% following the installation of advanced air purification technology.
The launch of the AireWellness program comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a renewed national focus on airborne disease transmission and indoor air quality. Americans, on average, spend approximately 90% of their time indoors where viruses and bacteria spread more easily, and some pollutants are two to five times more concentrated than outdoors. Last month, Amazon Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vin Gupta called air quality the biggest workplace health challenge of the 21st century.
The program will award certification to any hospital, school, gym, health club, restaurant, commercial office building or other facility that has installed SecureAire advanced air purification technology and documented a significant reduction in ultrafine particulate matter and a significant reduction in fine particulate matter within a ventilated space. These particles are the most dangerous to human health and include viruses, bacteria, fungi, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Buildings that meet or exceed these standards will be awarded a certificate and window decal to display for employees, customers, patients, students and visitors, providing a visual indication that a building has advanced and proven technology working behind the scenes to combat invisible airborne pathogens. In doing so, the program aims to arm individuals with the information they need to make informed decisions about where they live, work and play.
“As we continue to fight the spread of COVID-19, and we approach flu season, it is more important than ever that staff, customers, students, and patients know that the air they are breathing indoors is safe from harmful particles,” said Frank Stamatatos, President of SecureAire Technologies. “For the first time, we’re bringing visibility to an invisible problem – air quality is something we can’t see, but which has a critical impact on our health. The AireWellness program will finally give individuals the information they need to make smart decisions about where they spend time indoors.”
St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Queens, NY, is the first recipient of the AireWellness certification, following the three-year study published last month in The Journal of Hospital Infection. The study was conducted over 30 months with over 100,000 patient-days. Following implementation of SecureAire advanced air purification technology, HAIs at St. Mary’s went from an average of 11.9/1,000 patient-days to an average of 6.6/1,000 patient-days – a 45% reduction. Wound infections were found to fall by 63% and tracheal infections by 89%. The study, which was already underway when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, is thought to be the first of its kind, examining the impact of advanced air purification technology in a real-world hospital setting.
SecureAire Leadership Present St. Mary’s Hospital for Children with First AireWellness Certificate
Leadership at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children Celebrate AireWellness Certification
About SecureAire Technologies, LLC
SecureAire is the premier air purification company in the United States serving both the residential and business markets. SecureAire’s proprietary, cutting-edge Active Particle Control Technologies represent the most valuable scientific progress in air filtration in decades. This technology has been proven to eliminate superfine contaminants in the air which traditional HEPA filters are unable to neutralize, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
