Care New England Enhances Patient Safety With Germ-Zapping Robots
Friday, May 16, 2014
Care New England has begun using germ-zapping robots that eliminate hard-to-kill microorganisms in hard-to-clean places. Two robots are in place at Kent Hospital in Warwick, and one is in place at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket.
Xenex Disinfection Services’ UV disinfection system is the fastest, safest and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, and is scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that can cause hospital-acquired infections (HAI).
Hospital-acquired infections
Hospital-acquired infections, which are caused by such deadly pathogens as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. diff), pneumonia and Acinetobacter - are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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“One hospital-acquired infection is one too many, so we are excited to be using the Xenex system to help us achieve our goals of infection prevention, while improving quality and patient outcomes,” said Edward Schottland, acting president, Memorial Hospital. “Our environmental services team is very enthusiastic to be using this kind of advanced technology in their daily work."
Effective against even the most dangerous pathogens
The Xenex disinfection device uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV-C) light that is 25,000 times more powerful than sunlight to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and even bacterial spores. The system is effective against even the most dangerous pathogens, including C. diff, norovirus, and influenza and staph bacteria like MRSA. In minutes the device can disinfect a patient room, patient bathroom or operating room with a pulsing light that washes over the surfaces where germs reside.
The Xenex system has been credited for helping other health care facilities in the U.S. decrease their MRSA and C. diff infection rates. The Xenex UV disinfection system can disinfect a room in minutes and is easily portable, allowing it to be used in virtually any location within the hospital. Because the light is extremely intense, the machine operates on its own once it’s set up in a room. For enhanced safety, a sign placed outside the door warns people not to enter, and a motion sensor automatically shuts the machine off if someone should enter.
Staff at Kent and Memorial Hospitals helped to name their Xenex robots in a contest sponsored by the Environmental Services Departments at both operating units. Kent’s robots are now referred to as, “Adam and Eve,” and Memorial’s robot is named “Violet.”
Care New England
Care New England, located in Rhode Island, was founded in 1996 by Butler Hospital, Kent Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital. Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island joined the system as a hospital partner in 2013. Care New England is an integrated health care system that offers a continuum of quality care. The system includes primary care and specialty physicians; three teaching hospitals affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Butler, Memorial and Women & Infants; a community hospital, Kent; a visiting nurse and home care agency, the VNA of Care New England; and Care New England Wellness Center. For more information, visit carenewengland.org.
Xenex Disinfection Services
Xenex's patented pulse xenon UV room disinfection system is a pesticidal device used for the advanced environmental cleaning of health care facilities. The Xenex system has been repeatedly shown to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations because of its speed and ease of use. The Xenex mission is to eliminate bacteria, viruses and spores in the patient environment that can cause hospital acquired infections and to become the new standard method for disinfection in health care facilities worldwide. For more information, visit www.xenex.com.
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