Page 12 - Janaury 2018

Mold Expert Essential

to Hospitals' Clean Air

BY LOIS THOMSON facility using highly effi-
cient filters, and are they
According to Mike changing them as often as
Tebor, cleaning duct- they should? Do the filters
work in hospitals is a fit properly? Are people
"duct cleaner's worst- smoking? Is there an out-
case scenario." A com- door air intake, and where
ment like that could is the outdoor air being
stop you in your tracks, drawn from? Is there carpet-
but when you realize ing? Carpeting is dirty and
what he's talking about, has a greater impact on air
you can understand his compared with stone or
point. Tebor is one of wooden floors. All of those
the owners of Air Duct factors, plus others, could
Aseptics, a company of determine how often duct-
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018 indoor air quality Mike Tebor work should be cleaned.
experts who specialize
As for the process itself,
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI in cleaning HVAC and AC systems. cleaning a house could take a day, but
The service is paramount to ensure
working in a hospital could take any-
healthy, clean, indoor air – hence his
where from three to 10 days per air con-
comment about hospitals. "They are the ditioning system. One of the challenges,
worst-case scenario in the world of air of course, is protecting the patients.
duct cleaning because you have a build- Tebor explained, "At times, engineering
As Congress and the Trump administration consider ing that's occupied 24 hours a day with controls are put in place that can allow
various paths forward for U.S. health care reform, the ill patients. There are particulates and us to clean the air conditioner without
possible molds found in ductwork, and causing any ill-effect of the indoor air
School of Business Administration, will host the seventh in some of these molds can cause serious quality in patient areas. At other times,
health effects." He mentioned a particu- in critical areas, we will interface with
its series of premier health care conferences, lar mold called aspergillus, which, the hospitals to shut down portions of
The Business of Health Care: What’s Next? depending on the species, if one spore the buildings and relocate those patients
would get into bone marrow for trans- for periods of time during the cleaning."
plants, could be fatal to a patient. In contrast to the duct systems, Tebor
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from some Tebor knows all about the dangers of said the money and effort medical facili-
mold and dirty ductwork and unclean ties put into floors is almost laughable.
of the nation’s top industry and policy leaders on the air. He has been in the air duct cleaning "We see dirty ventilation systems in hos-
business for more than 25 years, and has pitals, but just like everywhere else – out
implications of widespread changes to the U.S. health care
taken care of more than 70,000 resi- of sight, out of mind. Hospitals put mil-
system on business and government. dences and businesses throughout lions of dollars into cleaning the floors,
Florida. In addition, he is ASCS certified but they are under our feet. They're not
with the National Air Duct Cleaners even in the breathing zone. But when it
Association. Included in the comes to their air ducts and their air
SPEAKERSINCLUDE Association's 32-page guide are stan- conditioning systems, many facilities
dards on how to clean various materials don't have them cleaned for many years;
found in duct systems – fiberglass, sheet but they are in the breathing zone, and
Richard Pollack Halee Fischer-Wright, MD
metal, etc. – and how one must be able that's where mold can grow."
President and CEO President and CEO to remove the debris without damaging Tebor is a licensed Mold Assessor and
American Hospital Association Medical Group Management the inside of the ducts. Certified Indoor Environmentalist,
Association However, he added that there's more which makes him multi-disciplined.
to his work than just cleaning: what is "We have the resources that allow me to
Marilyn Tavenner Pamela F. Cipriano cleaned out also has to be contained. go in and clean your air conditioning
President and CEO President "Whatever is found in an HVAC duct unit, and if it's uncleanable we can
America’s Health Insurance American Nurses Association system is very small in size. It's so small replace it. As an air duct cleaner, we can
Plans that it had to be airborne to get in there clean your duct to industry standards
in the first place. So cleaning is number and have it like new; and as a licensed
Joseph Fifer Fiona Greig one, and number two is containing the Mold Assessor, I can work inside and
President and CEO Director of Consumer Research contamination we’ve removed. HEPA fil- outside your air conditioner, for mold."
ters are used for containment on all While removing mold is Tebor's spe-
Healthcare Financial JPMorgan Chase Institute
cleaning equipment. We don't want to cialty, he emphasizes that not all mold is
Management Association
pollute the indoor air during the clean- bad. "We've got to have mold. If we did-
ing process, we don't want to throw mil- n't have mold we would not be alive, as
lions of times more debris into the air. falling leaves would be a thousand miles
Our objective is to remove particulates high because mold is what helps to
and micro-organisms from the build- decompose them and break them down.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: ing." We need it for that. It's great for making
bus.miami.edu/healthcare18 How often this cleaning must be done beer, penicillin, and saving lives. But it's
depends on several factors. As Tebor not good to breathe."
said, air conditioners should be inspect-
ed and cleaned on an annual basis, but For more information, visit
there is no standard for when a duct sys- www.ADAflorida.com or
tem should be cleaned because many call (888) 707-7763.
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12 January 2018 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News