Many organizations are helping mitigate facility challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Facility Guidelines Institute has taken a broader perspective, launching an initiative to develop carefully vetted design guidance for health and residential care facilities facing emergency situations caused by not only pandemics but weather events, wildfires, floods, arctic blasts and other emergency situations. A committee of more than 130 volunteers is focused on eight topic areas: renovation and design for future facilities, resiliency, surge capacity, modular construction, residential/adult care, small and/or rural facilities, alternative care sites and operational considerations.
The mission of FGI’s Emergency Conditions Committee is to develop recommendations based on case studies, best practices, historically effective solutions and timely lessons learned. FGI is working closely with government agencies and partner organizations to create a white paper that can be leveraged by owners, the design community and state and local authorities.
Scheduled for release in November 2020, the white paper will highlight proposed design standards for emergency conditions. The public will have an opportunity to review and comment on the proposed standards from November 2020 through January 2021. A revised version of the emergency conditions standards will be issued in January 2022.
For more information, visit fgiguidelines.org.
