Chesapeake Regional Medical Center has rolled out a five-foot, automated disinfection robot named Tru-D (Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfection), part of a $2 million CDC grant awarded to Duke University for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
CDC funding and technology selection was highly competitive. Chesapeake Regional was one of nine facilities chosen by Duke Infection Control Outreach Network (DICON) to implement Tru-D disinfection.
"We selected Tru-D because its automated system is proven to significantly reduce environmental pathogens and eliminate human error in the disinfection process," said DICON Medical Director Daniel Sexton, MD.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data reveals that one in 20 inpatients will fight an infection associated with their hospital care, contributing to nearly 100,000 fatalities annually.
Government estimates peg annual costs for preventable infections at $33 billion, increasing hospital costs in an already tight marketplace. Contributing to escalating costs, Medicare and Medicaid no longer reimburse for many types of infections, leaving hospitals to foot the bill. Integrating advanced technology like Tru-D SmartUVC into daily cleaning protocols "would be worth it, to prevent infection," said Billy Richmond, MD, Chesapeake Regional's director of infection control.
Clinical studies that link environmental surface contamination to patient infection have resulted in strenuous hand-washing requirements for healthcare workers. But according to Richmond, "It is not enough ... as we approach 100 percent compliance with hand-washing, we still have infections."
So, the focus now is to target contaminated, high-touch surfaces in a patient's room. "Even if you have 100 percent hand-washing, if you go into a room and touch a contaminated surface, then you contaminate your hand," Richmond said.
Research indicates that three specific disinfection technologies – accurately dosed ultraviolet light treatment, bleach and quaternary ammonium – all show a significant reduction of environmental biological contamination. Through this CDC-funded study, researchers will document HAI-reduction specific to each technology, and determine if a combination of these technologies might do a better job killing the infectious pathogens that cause healthcare associated infections, or HAIs.
Infections are rare at Chesapeake Regional, with 72 HAIs and no fatalities reported out of 15,604 admissions over the last 12 months, according to hospital officials.
The Tru-D used by Chesapeake Regional emits a narrow-band of specifically dosed UV germicidal light to kill the environmental pathogens that commonly cause infections acquired at hospitals.
Tru-D SmartUVC is the only portable UV disinfection system that precisely measures reflected UVC emissions with Sensor360 technology to automatically calculate the pathogen-lethal UV dose required for each room, dynamically compensating for room size, shape and other dose altering variables such as the position of contents, windows, blinds and doors.
