Renovating a hospital is never simple. As the facility manager on the project, you’re juggling more than timelines and contractors. You’re the one making sure patients stay safe, staff can do their jobs, and everything meets compliance standards. And if it doesn’t, it falls on your shoulders.
One slip, and the fallout is real. Dust or airborne contaminants leak into patient areas, and suddenly, you’re dealing with complaints, possible infections, and inspectors breathing down your neck.
That’s why more facility managers are ditching the old plastic sheeting and drywall approach. It’s slow, wasteful, and doesn’t always hold up when you’re under pressure to keep things airtight and compliant.
These days, modern hospitals and medical centers are switching to temporary wall systems. These modular, reusable barriers are built specifically for healthcare spaces. They’re faster, cleaner, and take one more stressor off your plate during a renovation. You can proceed with confidence, knowing that your facility will not only meet strict compliance standards but will look professional while doing it.
Every stage of a renovation — tearing things out, building new spaces, cleaning up — comes with its own set of problems. If your barriers aren’t sealed tightly, dust and airborne particles can drift into hallways, patient rooms, or staff areas.
When that happens, you’re looking at:
Temporary wall systems take a lot of that headache off the table. Instead of rebuilding disposable barriers for every job, you can use durable, ICRA-compliant panels that hold up, look professional, and move easily from one project to the next.
Need a refresher on why dust control matters so much? Learn more here.
A temporary wall system is a sturdy, reusable barrier that separates your construction area from the rest of the hospital.
Unlike plastic sheets or drywall, which get torn down and tossed after each job, these systems are built to last. They’re made with hospital-grade materials like aluminum or composite panels, designed to withstand constant cleaning and heavy use.
What makes them so useful is how well they seal off dust and contaminants, keeping patient areas protected, while also saving time on setup. Crews can get to work faster without spending hours building makeshift barriers. And because these systems can be reused across multiple projects, they cut down on waste and long-term costs.
Facility managers count on them for everything from quick flooring replacements to larger buildouts like ICU expansions — any project where safety, compliance, and keeping operations running smoothly all matter at the same time.
Plastic sheeting and drywall have been the standard for years because they’re cheaper up front. But anyone who’s managed more than a few renovation projects knows the downsides.
Materials like plastic sheets and drywall can only be used once, so the cost adds up quickly when you’re doing multi-phase work. Crews also spend extra time building and tearing them down, which slows down the overall schedule. On top of that, they don’t do much for sound control and often look unprofessional or out of place in an active hospital, which frustrates both patients and staff.
Temporary wall systems solve those problems by using reusable panels that hold up from one project to the next. They’re faster to set up, create less waste, and present a more professional, quieter environment for everyone who still needs to work or receive care while renovations are underway.
Dive deeper into the comparison between temporary walls vs. traditional barriers here.
If you’re overseeing a healthcare renovation, staying compliant with ICRA standards isn’t optional — it’s a requirement that can make or break your project timeline. Failing to meet these standards can lead to work stoppages, fines, or worse, increased risk to patients and staff.
STARC Systems makes it easier to meet those requirements without adding stress. Their temporary wall systems are built with airtight seals to keep dust and airborne contaminants contained, and the panels themselves are durable and designed to hold up to the strict cleaning protocols hospitals demand. They also deploy quickly, so your crews don’t lose time waiting on containment to be set up before the real work begins.
By using systems built with compliance in mind, you can keep your renovation on schedule, protect everyone in the facility, and avoid unnecessary complications.
Hospitals rarely renovate just once. Many projects end up spanning multiple years over multiple phases. A wing might be upgraded section by section, surgical suites updated in stages, or infrastructure replaced floor by floor to keep operations running.
Investing in a high-quality temporary wall system saves money over time by:
See how these systems prove their long-term ROI here.
When you’re looking for a temporary wall system, it helps to stick to the basics. You need something durable enough to handle constant cleaning, easy to move between phases, quick to set up so crews aren’t wasting time, and able to work with your HEPA filtration and negative air equipment.
The STARC Systems RealWall™ is our #1 bestselling option that checks those boxes. It’s designed to feel as solid as a permanent wall but comes in modular panels that can be set up and reconfigured for different spaces. The insulated foam core helps cut down construction noise by about 25 decibels, which makes a big difference for patients and staff nearby.
The panels are simple to disinfect, meet hospital cleaning standards, and experienced crews can put up about 100 feet in an hour. Because the panels are reusable and sterilizable, they’re easy to carry through multiple phases without adding a lot of waste or downtime.
Whichever system you choose, make sure it’s built for repeated use, meets ICRA requirements, integrates with your air control setup, and can be deployed quickly. Those four things will save you time, money, and stress on every project.
If you’re planning for an upcoming renovation project, it’s worth taking a closer look at how the right wall system can work together to make your job easier and your facility safer.
Want to see which air filtration solutions pair best with your containment system?
Download the free HEPA vs. ULPA Guide and get the details you need to make the right call for your next project.