Infection Prevention is not a single solution. Experts agree that surface contamination is one of the key factors that play a role in pathogen transmission. However, traditional methods of cleaning by environmental staff have been proven to be inadequate. The reason for this often varies based on education and resources available. Some facilities make it more of a priority than others and that has lead to the rise in tracking hospital-associated infections and soon to be skilled nursing site infections. With high levels of accountability and monetary penalties behind the effort to improve infection transmission, the industry has seen a significant rise in modern “no touch” technologies.
All “no touch” technologies bring some kind of benefit to the environmental cleaning process. One technology that shows great promise, is automated ultraviolet light (UV-C) that continuously emits 254 nm to a given treatment area. The benefit to this technology is that it can achieve a good level of pathogen reduction and is extremely easy to use. It requires no sealing of the room and can be completed in just minutes vs. hours for other technology like hydrogen peroxide vapor.
A recent article by the United States National Institute of Health highlights the benefits of ultraviolet light and other no touch technologies as they continue to proliferate in the healthcare environment. Click here to view more