Modeling Hospital Energy and Economic Costs for COVID-19 Infection Control Interventions

The objective of this study was to assess the energy demand and economic cost of two hospital-based COVID-19 infection control interventions. The intervention control measures evaluated include use of negative pressure (NP) treatment rooms and xenon pulsed ultraviolet (XP-UV) infection control equipment. After projecting COVID-19 hospitalizations, a Hospital Energy Model and Infection De-escalation Models are applied to quantify increases in energy demand and reductions in secondary infections. The scope of the interventions consisted of implementing NP in 11, 22, and 44 rooms (at small, medium, and large hospitals) while the XP-UV equipment was used eight, nine, and ten hours a day, respectively. The annum kilowatt-hours (kWh) for NP (and costs were at $0.1015 per kWh) were 116,700 ($11,845), 332,530 ($33,752), 795,675 ($80,761) for small, medium, and large hospitals ($1,077, $1,534 $1,836 added annum energy cost per NP room). For XP-UV, the annum kilowatt-hours and costs were 438 ($45), 493 ($50), 548 ($56) for small, medium, and large hospitals. There are other initial costs associated with the purchase and installation of the equipment, with XP-UV having a higher initial cost. XP-UV had a greater reduction in secondary COVID-19 infections in large and medium hospitals. NP rooms had a greater reduction in secondary SARS-CoV-2 transmission in small hospitals. Early implementation of interventions can result in realized cost savings through reduced hospital-acquired infections. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Clinical Trial NA ### Funding Statement This study was funded by the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and Schools and Johns Hopkins University. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) MInD-Healthcare Program (Grant Number 1U01CK000536) supported GL. The views presented herein are the authors and are not to be construed as official, or reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The Hopkins Homewood Institutional Review Board reviewed the project and provided exemption. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes Pertinent data is included in the manuscript.