FIBER faculty Dr. Lisa Platt and Dr. Ryan Sharston along with Dr. Tara Sabo-Atwood the Director of Wellness Programs with UF’s Department of Environmental & Global Health were recently awarded the UF Seed Fund Grant for their interdisciplinary research on Using a Design Performance Safety Simulation Model to Forecast Infection Prevention Resilience in Healthcare Environments. The aim of this study is to use AI-based technology to investigate community health factors that may contribute to increased risk of infections in acute care inpatient settings. The work will also investigate the impact that resilient unit-based design has on pathogen control in the context of relevant regional infectivity threat levels. The purpose of this work is to provide healthcare Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment Management teams a platform that enables better forecasting of specific designing for safety measures ability to stem the progression of Hospital Acquired Infections to vulnerable patients in a care delivery setting.
This research is being performed in cooperation with UF Shands Infection Control Team leaders Scott A. Brown MBA RN CIC FAPIC, Dr. Nicole Iovine, MD, Ph.D. and hospital facilities and design experts Brad Pollitt, AIA, Du Meyer, and Robyn May. The team commenced work in the summer for 2020 and anticipates completion of this study by mid-2022.