Nursepod anti-COVID-19 remote nurses’ office units unveiled at Glen Cove School District

Glen Cove, NY NursePod, an innovative new building concept that places nurses’ offices in a separate structure outside of school buildings to create a safe, hygienic space to help isolate students with COVID-19 symptoms, unveiled its first units ever built and installed, with a ribbon cutting at the Glen Cove City School District, outside Landing Elementary School, located at 60 McLoughlin St. NursePod is based in Hicksville.

Last year, as schools prepared to re-open for in-person instruction, the NursePod creative team of Long Island architect Michael Mark, AIA, developer Michael Scott, and Interior Designer Irene Yim, ASID came up with the design in response to guidance from health, ASHRAE and government agencies.

The NursePod offers two isolation rooms to provide a safer working environment for the health personnel or school nurse while maintaining supervision of the ill student. Each isolation room is painted with microbicidal paint which kills germs on contact within two hours, and a negative air pressure exhaust system, which vents potentially infected air out of the NursePod with no recirculation into the adjoining spaces. LED UVC emitters on the ceiling of all rooms clean and sanitize the spaces continually. Each unit is 467 s/f.

The idea, to relocate the nurse’s office outside the school building, grew into NursePod, which helps to protect students, staff and other building occupants when a student moves from the classroom to the nurse’s office when they exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, and again upon release to a caregiver.

“We are incredibly excited to see the NursePod go from a concept to a real-life structure that can help the Glen Cove City School District keep kids safe from the spread of COVID-19,” said Mark. “We were concerned that school nurse’s offices simply were not designed for this new world in which we find ourselves. Our goal is to ease the concerns that school administrators, nurses, teachers, staff and parents have in the ‘what-if’ scenario where a child might display symptoms during a school day. We also care about a child’s emotional wellbeing. In the event where they might display symptoms, we must care for them in a safe and compassionate way while maintaining that child’s confidentiality to prevent any stigma and bullying.”

Built as a modular structure, NursePods are constructed offsite and transported to the installation location. They are craned into place anywhere on a school campus, avoiding lengthy and costly building construction issues. Moving the nurses’ office outside the school building also frees up that interior space for instructional use allowing more space for distancing. NursePod worked with local fabricators and manufacturers to build and deliver the first units to the Glen Cove City School District on Long Island. NursePod is currently working with other school districts to deliver more of their signature units in the coming months.

The main reception room includes a nurses’ station with desk. A unisex bathroom and a separate lab station with hand-washing sink and touchless water bottle filler complete the space for a facility that can serve all the needs of school nurses.

The NursePods have also been thoughtfully designed to prevent the stigma of being ill. The interior and exterior project a sense of calm with inviting warm colors and can be painted in a variety of color palettes.