VA Dallas LTSCI Newsletter_March 2024

To make space for the new Long Term Spinal Cord Injury Center (LTSCI), a portion of Building 74 needs to be demolished. For most non-medical facilities, this process is relatively simple. However, since the LTSCI is attached to an active medical facility that provides differing levels of care, extra vigilance and caution is required to effectively reduce the effects of the demolition on the facility’s current patients. ICRA’s Five Steps The Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) is a step-by-step process that aims to identify and control risk due to exposure. The process of the ICRA follows these five steps: 1. Identify the hazards: This involves an investigation into the project’s scope of work and what potential disturbances it may create. 2. Decide who could be harmed and how: This step requires a level of knowledge on how “compromised” those who are exposed may be to the activities taking place. This is done by identifying surround spaces and what they are used for. 3. Evaluates risks: The ICRA team will evaluate the risks then put them within a table. This way the team can easily follow the precautions assigned to each risk level. Selective Demolition of Building 74 & ICRA HIGHLIGHTED ACTIVITY

4. Follow-up on the ICRA: Make sure everything is up-to-date with the current activities.

5. Review and update : The final step is to review and update the ICRA, if needed.

Why is ICRA Important? By following these steps, the team can properly mitigate the health risks associated with exposure to dust and noise that comes with construction. For this project, we have employed a temporary wall that seals off and completely separates the demolition from patients in any of the occupied medical spaces. Texas Exterior Systems is one of the subcontractors currently working on installing this temporary wall.

Reminder! It is critical to seal any penetrations through the wall (refer to the photo on the right).

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