Modernizing Pharmacy Compounding Areas for Safety and Compliance"

Project Overview

The Dallas, Texas, Veteran Affairs Medical Center required remodeling the existing pharmacy compounding areas. The affected areas included the hazardous sterile compounding, sterile compounding, ante room, pharmacy unpacking and hazardous storage and preparation room. This project included the complete demolition of these areas and all new framing, drywall, ceilings, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, flooring, automatic sliding doors, wall protection, pass-throughs and windows.

The HVAC design had to comply with the new United States Pharmacopeia (USP) 800 standards, the VA HVAC Design Manual and the VA Pharmacy Design Guide. HVAC systems are designed and constructed for the required room pressurizations, air change rates, and filtration systems to prevent airborne contaminants from moving to other spaces. The most important aspects of USP 800 regarding our construction renovation are the HVAC modifications, containment equipment and aseptic surfaces.

HVAC Modifications: Product contamination control and limiting hazardous product exposure to personnel are the two main criteria that impact facility design. The USP guidelines dictate air change rate, room pressurization, externally vented exhaust, laminar flow hoods and segregation of mechanical systems. To ensure compliance, our team provided airflow diagrams with air change rates, air handling unit zoning plans, pressurization plans, air handling unit sequence of operation, personnel, material and waste flow diagrams and water flow diagrams. A new exhaust system was installed to ensure contaminates were properly vented out of the compounding area.

Aseptic Surfaces: The standard room finishes have been proven to withstand rigorous cleaning with harsh chemicals over time. Non-porous materials for all surfaces are vital to the cleanliness and durability of the space.