Pharmacies and compound laboratories that contain harmful and toxic materials need to be engineered for the safety of healthcare personnel, patients, and the environment. Strict, new requirements for handling hazardous chemicals such as chemotherapy drugs places high expectations on hospitals to maintain up-to-date standards set by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). 

 

When the new national standard in USP code became effective in December 2019, the Somerset Hospital Pharmacy Suite was in need of an update. Gatter & Diehl’s long standing relationship with the UPMC Somerset Hospital and expertise in healthcare design were a perfect match for the renovation project.

 

The goal for Gatter & Diehl was to design systems that improved the pharmacy workflow by prioritizing efficient, sterile, and safe compounding rooms to fit in a condensed area. Our design team applied USP 800, 797, and 795 standards as well as Pennsylvania Department of Health requirements in order to achieve our goals. Special attention to detail was critical throughout each phase of the project as the pharmacy was optimized for sterile hazardous mixing, hazardous storage, sterile non-hazardous mixing, and non-sterile mixing. Also included in the design was a new staff lounge for pharmacy staff to enjoy.

We engineered the ante room, clean room, and non-sterile compounding room with a highly advanced air handler with HEPA filters and forced fan units with exhaust systems for maximum filtration of dangerous chemicals, plus energy efficient LED lighting to each area. Monitoring and actively maintaining pressurization relationships, airflow, and establishing contamination control areas for operational practices were vital to support the condition required in each space.