FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
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Carrie Williams
Chief Communications Officer
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(AUSTIN, Texas – Oct. 1, 2021) – Integrated Viral Protection (IVP), a Houston-based biodefense indoor air filtration system, and the Texas Hospital Association, the leading advocacy voice for Texas hospitals and health care systems today announced a partnership to offer novel heated HEPA air filtration to THA member hospitals.
The partnership is through the Texas Hospital Association’s Center for Technology Innovation, a group of health care technology professionals who vet emerging technologies for Texas hospitals. In response to a November 2020 study in Scientific Reports that showed SARS-CoV-2 can be dispersed and potentially transmitted by aerosols via ventilation systems equipped with hospital-grade HEPA filters, CTI established a partnership with IVP to advance the adoption of its proprietary heated HEPA technology.
Hospitals spend significant time and resources on mitigating airborne contamination and hospital-acquired infections, and the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for enhanced air filtration.
IVP developed a heated HEPA filtration system that was tested at the Galveston National Laboratory to show 99.99% reduction of SARS -CoV-2 and all other airborne pathogens as they pass through the filter while not raising the ambient temperature of the air. IVP uses an FDA-approved heated filter technology deployed in mobile units of various sizes or installed into existing HVAC systems. Currently, over 100 health care facilities in the U.S. utilize IVP technology on their medical campuses, including Houston Methodist and Houston’s St. Joseph Medical Center.
“We are very proud and excited to bring this technology to our members as it stands to make a substantial impact in the fight against airborne transmission of disease,” said Fernando Martinez, Ph.D., THA chief strategy officer. “CTI hopes to see this technology widely deployed as a major weapon in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and future events of its kind. We also have hope that this will help reduce the level of fear and anxiety hospital staff have experienced during the pandemic, which has contributed to unprecedented levels of staff turnover.”
This proprietary technology recently earned the inventor, Monzer Hourani, the 2021 Engineer of the Year Award by Engineering News Record, and the 2020 Emerging Technology Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
About THA
Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and health care systems. Based in Austin, THA enhances its members’ abilities to improve accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Texans. One of the largest hospital associations in the country, THA represents more than 650 of the state’s non-federal general and specialty hospitals and health care systems, which employ some 400,000 health care professionals statewide. Learn more about THA at www.tha.org or follow THA on Twitter at https://twitter.com/texashospitals.
About Integrated Viral Protection
Integrated Viral Protection Solutions was founded by Monzer Hourani in April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and to foster research, development and deployment of technologies that offer biodefense solutions to mitigate transmission of biological threats in indoor environments. Their biodefense system is a novel prevention technology against airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The heated biodefense filter can be retrofitted into commercial and home HVAC systems or deployed as a mobile unit equipped with powerful filtration capability. For more information, please visit www.ivpair.com.