POTSDAM -- Faculty and staff at Clarkson University are collaborating with St. Lawrence Health System’s medical team to provide enhanced, safe, COVID-19 critical care.

Clarkson personnel are applying their expertise in COVID-19 related areas like airborne particle properties, sustainable battery life, mechanical and electrical engineering in, HVAC systems, and engineering design.

PAPR Battery Modifications

A top priority project was to enhance upon the existing battery life of the System’s Positive Air Pressure Respirators (PAPRs). These critical personal protective equipment (PPE) devices help protect healthcare providers from COVID-19 in specific cases where risk of exposure is high.

Bill Jemison, Dean of the Coulter School of Engineering, and Tony Collins, Professor of Innovative Engineering Culture and an electrical engineer, suggested modifying the PAPRs to operate from longer-life batteries. Within two days, Jemison had a working prototype of the modified PAPR unit in his basement. After a total of 29 different modifications, the batteries were maintaining a continuous and consistent airflow rate for an entire clinical 12-hour shift; allowing those donning the equipment to complete a full shift without an interruption in patient care to replace the battery.

Emergency Department Respiratory Unit Design

Before the Pandemic surfaced in the North Country, CPH’s infection prevention team identified a need for a first-stop ED COVID Triage area for patients showing COVID symptoms and/or have identified potential exposure. The System’s facilities and construction teams immediately went to work designing and building a new Emergency Department Respiratory Unit (EDRU) just inside the main entrance of the Hospital.

Simultaneously, CPH was renovating two floors to be equipped as Airborne Precaution Units (APU), in the event there was a surge in COVID patients. Renovations included the installation of a 25-ton portable air supply unit that brings filtered and conditioned fresh air into the Hospital and ensures individual negative air units in each room work properly. Once installed, Clarkson’s team of specialists were invited to review the current equipment and provide ideas for enhancing airflow efficiencies. After a few modifications, all APU patient areas were fully equipped to provide safe airflow.

Clear Intubation Safety Box

Each time a patient is intubated, there is a high-risk moment of staff exposure to airborne droplets; especially around the mouth, nose, and eyes. To help minimize the risk to staff, Clarkson Coulter School of Engineering Machine Shop built clear intubation and transport covers specifically for SLHS’s clinical team. Built by Machine Shop Supervisor Jacob Weller and Machinist Mark Hebel, the holes and see-through design allow staff to safely conduct the intubation procedure in a contained, lower-risk environment.

Similarly, a second cover was designed for transporting patients to the Airborne Precaution Unit.

N95 Mask Sterilization Process

Although facilities across the System were never without PPE, the infectious disease and infection prevention teams began investigating ways to sanitize and reuse select PPE, in the event a shortage occurred. Inspired by a sanitization method used in Nebraska and upon the recommendation of Clarkson’s engineering team, SLHS implemented a UV cleaning method using their Surfacide ultraviolet sterilization technology.