October 11, 2022
Primary.Health Editorial Team
2 minutes
Better indoor air quality is key to preventing the spread of Flu, COVID-19 and other airborne diseases, particularly among vulnerable populations.
Primary.Health is joining other industry leaders, employers, and building operators to support the White House four-step Clean Air in Buildings challenge.
What does the Clean Air in Buildings challenge entail? The White House is asking participants for four key commitments:
- Create a Clean Indoor Air Action Plan – Create a plan for upgrades and improvements to indoor air quality, including HVAC inspections and maintenance if applicable.
- Optimize Fresh Air Ventilation – Bring clean outdoor air indoors and circulate it when it is safe to do so.
- Enhance Air Filtration and Cleaning – By taking steps such as improving your central HVAC system and/or installing in-room air cleaning devices including HEPA filters.
- Engage the Building Community – Communicate with building occupants to increase awareness, commitment, and participation.
The White House provides a host of resources for meeting the challenge, including best practices, funding sources, and FAQs.
An innovator in providing large-scale health diagnostics for vulnerable communities, Primary.Health has been at the forefront of researching indoor air safety solutions that could keep schools and other populations safe. Primary’s unique partnership with Poppy Health, a leading provider of indoor air monitoring technology, aligns with the Clean Air in Buildings challenge by monitoring air flow and air pathogen spread risk in schools and proposing improvements.
Earlier this year, Primary and Poppy Health conducted a large-scale pilot of air safety assessment and air pathogen monitoring in several California schools, installing 42 Poppy air monitoring devices to check for COVID-19. The pilot identified when infection risk was high in a specific building and/or room and suggested appropriate HVAC adjustments.
As a result of this pilot, Primary.Health is pioneering an indoor air safety solution designed to protect the health and safety of schools, communities and underserved populations. The public health indoor air safety program includes the following elements:
- Air safety assessment and adjustments
- Monitoring for pathogens
- Alerts, testing and messaging
- System / public health dashboards to track outbreaks
The air safety program is the latest Primary.Health innovation that combines people, process and technology to deliver new diagnostic techniques to underserved communities at scale. Its grassroots effort to provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations in one California community led to a large-scale partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to service over 5,500+ school locations.
Primary.Health is available to help organizations and community leaders meet the White House Clean Air in Buildings challenge and to empower you with diagnostics to protect the health and safety of your population.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
