by
Loren Bonner, DOTmed News Online Editor | July 20, 2012
From the July 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
One size doesn’t fit all
Decreasing incidents of HAIs is a multi-component effort. Although hand hygiene is important, and at the top of many institutions’ priority lists, it’s just one way hospitals are working toward reducing infections.
Eckard Gesell, regional director of marketing for Lifecycle Solutions at the Lübeck, Germany-based company Dräger, says they have created a line of disposable accessories and consumables in response to the growing market demand for disposable products and infection prevention solutions. One example is Dräger’s ECG lead system intended for single-patient use, which the company launched in February.
“Even a product as simple as an ECG lead cable can contribute to the entire chain of patient safety, hygiene and comfort,” says Gesell.
The risk most commonly associated with an ECG is a nosocomial infection. Studies have shown that ECG leads can be a pathway for antibiotic-resistant pathogens, even after disinfection.
Philips resells a UV room sterilizer called Tru-D from Lumalier Corp. The device is automated, no-touch, portable and helps control pathogens known to contaminate environmental surfaces.
Another portable cleaning device, the Xenex PX-UV Disinfection System, uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet light to destroy viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores in patient areas. Cone Health in North Carolina began using the system last year and reported a 42% decrease in MRSA in just six months.
Despite an abundance of technology available to help keep hospitals germ-free, not all epidemiology departments are convinced it’s the way to go.
“We have to follow state guidelines, but we have our own infection control approach that’s quite simple,” says Alfonso Torress-Cook, director of epidemiology and patient safety at Pacific Hospital Long Beach.
Instead of focusing completely on caregiver hygiene, Pacific makes sure every patient that’s admitted into the hospital is cleaned. “What about the patient washing their hands? We make sure to clean their hands and fingernails and give them a shower from head to toe,” he says. Combined with staff protocols, Torress-Cook says his hospital has virtually eliminated methicillinresistant staphylococcus aureus and surgical infections, and can boast of being a hospital with a low incidence of infection.
Back to HCB News
