Join us at Varitec Solutions for a half-day of educational sessions and discussions on Indoor Environmental Quality, featuring three exceptional speakers.
Earn PDH credits and AIA HSW credits.
| Time | Topic | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 8:00 – 9:00 am | Session 1: Buildings Are Our Best Medicine | Stephanie Taylor, MD, M Arch |
| 9:00 – 9:15 am | Break | |
| 9:15 – 10:15 am | Session 2: The Most Critical Health Investment You’ll Ever Make: IAQ | Mark Ereth, MD |
| 10:30 – 11:30 am | Round Table Discussion | |
| 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Lunch | |
| 12:30 – 1:30 pm | Session 3: Health and Well-Being, One Breath at a Time | Dan Hahne |
| 1:30 – 1:45 pm | Wrap Up |
Presentation Description:
The average person spends 90% of their time inside, making exposure to the indoor environment a powerful determinant of our health, productivity, and overall sense of wellbeing. Understanding the relationship between occupant health and the indoor built environment, specifically indoor air quality (IAQ), has historically been almost impossible because of the multitude of variables that determine our health (or lack of it).
By uniting the fields of medicine, microbiology, and building science, Building4Health has developed an occupant health standard that creates visibility of indoor ecosystems which impact both short-term and long-term health, immunity, and productivity.
This presentation will guide you through the development and deployment of our B4H.Dx, the unique IAQ health standard that guides safe and resource-efficient HVAC design, operations, and maintenance.
Together, we can learn to manage buildings to protect both outdoor environments through energy efficiency as well as human occupants through visibility of the health impact of indoor spaces.
Presenter Bio:
Stephanie H. Taylor MD, M Architecture, CIC, FRSPH(UK)
ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, Epidemic Task Force, Environmental Health Committee
Harvard Medical School InciteHealth Fellow
Building4Health, Inc., CEO and Founder
Dr. Stephanie Taylor received her MD from Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts in 1984. For the next several decades, she practiced clinical medicine and did academic research in cellular growth mechanisms.
During her clinical work, she became increasingly concerned that the hospital building played a role in the healthcare-associated infections that many patients acquired during their in-patient treatment. Determined to gain a better understanding of the impact of the built environment on patient healing, she returned to school and obtained her Master’s Degree in Architecture. With new insights, she learned that building materials and indoor air characteristics affect health outcomes not only for hospitalized patients but for all building occupants. New findings reveal the powerful role of indoor air quality in driving acute infections, chronic inflammation, cognitive impairment, and a multitude of other diseases.
She recently co-founded Building4Health, Inc. to scale the underutilized yet powerful approach of IAQ management for disease prevention.
To communicate the fascinating convergence of human health, microbiology, and architecture, Dr. Taylor writes monthly columns and bi-annual feature articles for Engineered Systems Magazine and publishes in other healthcare journals. She is an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer and is on the Epidemic Task Force and Environmental Health Committee.
Presentation Description:
Description coming soon!
Presenter Bio:
Mark H.Ereth, MD
Physician, Scientist, Inventor, Social Entrepreneur
Present Academic Rank, Position, & Title
Emeritus Professor | Mayo Clinic College Of Medicine and Science| Rochester, MN
Chief Medical Officer | InSitu Biologics, Inc. | Woodbury, MN
Chief Medical Officer | SecureAire, LLC | Dunedin, FL
Member | The Doctors’ Mayo Society – Mayo Clinic College Of Medicine | Rochester, MN
Founding Member | The Lundy Society – Mayo Clinic College Of Medicine | Rochester, MN
Founder And Board Chair-Emeritus| Cheetah Development, African Non-Profit | Tanzania
Education
DOCTOR OF MEDICINE | 1985 | UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE RESIDENCY | 1986-1988 | MAYO CLINIC GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
· Anesthesiology, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology
Prior Extramural Research Funding
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH GRANT
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
MAYO FOUNDATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
Patents
AUTOMATED INJECTION DEVICE FOR ADMINISTRATION OF LIQUID MEDICAMENT
· Inventors: G. Farrugia, M. Ereth, Patent Number: US 6517517
MATERIAL DELIVERY SYSTEM
· Inventors: J. Drake, M. Ereth, L. Skow, Patent Number: US 6992233
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TREATING MITRAL REGURGITATION AND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
· Inventors: G. Speziali, P. Friendman, M. Ereth, C. Bruce, R. Daly, Patent Number: US 10572112
PROCESS AND SYSTEM FOR SYSTEMATIC OXYGENATION AND RENAL PRESERVATION DURING RETROGRADE PERFUSION OF THE ISCHEMIC KIDNEY
· Inventors: M. Humphreys, M. Ereth, M. Gettman, Patent Number: US 60839367
Publications and Presentations
Over 100 Peer Reviewed Journal Articles, Abstracts, And Book Chapters
Over 250 Visiting Professorships, Lectures, and Presentations, Worldwide
TED Talk: “Your Next Breath May Kill You; And It’s Not COVID”, April 6, 2022, TEDx University Tulsa
Presentation Description:
Since the advent of the pandemic, ASHRAE initiated its Epidemic Task Force (ETF) which became a leading resource for building owners and design teams looking for HVAC solutions to reduce the risk of pathogenic infection. Task force guidelines listed a number of best practices for reducing the risk of infection by increasing outdoor air infraction rates, increasing building filtration effectiveness, maintaining building humidity levels to between 40% to 60%, applying UV-C light technology, and considering air diffusion patterns within the occupied space. Increasing outdoor air infraction rates has long been acknowledged as an effective way to improve indoor air quality. Why? One reason is expressed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) web page, Why Indoor Air Quality is Important to Schools. The page’s “Overview” states, “EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate the indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times – and occasionally more than 100 times – higher than indoor levels.” Carbon dioxide (CO2) building concentrations are also being reevaluated for indoor environments. ASHRAE standards call for building CO2 concentrations not to exceed 700 ppm more than the outdoor air levels. This calculation in the 1980s approximated 1,000 ppm when outdoor air CO2 levels registered at ~350 ppm. However, today’s outdoor air CO2 levels in Phoenix’s urban CO2 dome average between 420 to 490 ppm depending on the time of year, thereby pushing minimum indoor air concentrations above the 1,100 ppm threshold. Applying ASHRAE HVAC guidelines to reduce the risk of infection and applying CO2 mitigation strategies incur energy penalties and are problematic for ASHRAE’s practiced intent to increase HVAC system efficiency to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions. The built environment generates 40% of our nation’s carbon emissions. Dan Hahne, Varitec’s Director of High-Performance HVAC Solutions, will review ASHRAE recommended guidelines for healthier built environments and will present on:
- How to apply ASHRAE ETF guidelines and explore a blended approach to reduce the risk of infection.
- The pros and cons of prescribed HVAC best practices to create healthier environments.
- Review environmental factors that contribute to infection during cold and flu season and the myth of a well-mixed environment
Innovative HVAC design strategies that build bridges across the divide implicit in ASHRAE’s developing IAQ guidelines for healthier buildings and their initiatives to promote electrification and decarbonization by increasing HVAC operating efficiencies.
Presenter’s Bio:
Dan Hahne
Director of High-Performance HVAC Systems
In 1983 Dan graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in sculpture and completed in 1985 his MFA degree in sculpture at the University of Boston. He began his professional HVAC career in 1985 working as an estimator at the Phoenix office of Norman S. Wright S.W. In the early 90’s he began contractor sales of air-side components. His role in sales expanded when he joined a new manufacturer’s rep firm, Air Specialty Products (ASP) where he became involved in large design-build projects such as the Phoenix Cardinals Areas, Banner Desert Cardon Children’s Hospital, and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In 2008 Dan took on the role of Sales Engineer for ASP and began promoting sustainability and high-performance HVAC system solutions. Dan expanded his engineering sales role when he joined Varitec Solutions as a Senior Sales Engineer in 2016 becoming Varitec’s corporate “educator” where he currently designs and presents educational webinars on research, products, and integrated system solutions to optimize energy performance while promoting enhanced IAQ for buildings.