Whitman Hospital adds humidity system

A new humidity control system is being installed this week in the three operating rooms in the surgery wing at Whitman Hospital and Medical Center.

The installation is expected to cost about $70,000 and is expected to be installed by the end of this week, according to Jim Heilsberg, chief financial officer for the hospital and information systems coordinator.

Macklin & Little, Inc., Spokane, Monday received a city building permit to install the humidifier. The installation design was done by NAC Architecture with assistance from MW Consulting Engineers of Spokane.

SMK Mechanical, Spokane, obtained a permit to install ductwork between the humidifier and the surgery suites in the hospital. The work has been done in stages at night with individual surgery rooms closed off as the work advances.

The state Department of Health has recently had more focus on the controlling humidity surgery suites and some hospitals around the state are responding.

A long-standing national policy is to never let humidity go below 35 percent in surgery suites, according to officials in the DOH health professionals and facilities office.

The new humidifier will add the potential to increase humidity by adding water to the existing system, Heilsberg said.

The existing dehumidifier keeps humidity low.

Both systems working in unison help balance out the humidity in the rooms, he said.

The three surgery rooms see between 60 and 80 patients a month, Heilsberg said.

High humidity in a surgery room makes a breeding ground for unwelcome organisms to take hold and grow quickly.

“If it is too high, too much humidity creates an environment for bad organisms,” Heilsberg explained.

If the humidity is too low, an operating room can dry out to the point of being a fire hazard. Surgery can involve cauterizing skin or organs, a procedure that increases potential for fire over what is normal for other hospital rooms, Heilsberg explained.

The state fire Marshall last year came on board with the Department of Health to help them complete their inspections of hospitals around the state.

The addition of the fire marshall gave the surveys more of an emphasis on flammability in surgery suites.

Some hospitals around the state have responded by adding humidity systems to their surgery suites, said Bart Eggen, executive director of health professions and facilities for the state department of health.

“There are actually a fair number of fires that do occur in surgery areas because of the flammability of the some of the products that are used in there,” said Steve Saxe, director of health professions and facilities for the DOH.