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only drawback, according
to Annemarie Schmocker,
BSN, RN, CIC, Elmhurst's
infection control manag-
er: It takes 90 minutes to
treat each room, and each
has to be sealed off for
the duration of the cycle.
The hospital's decision-
makers considered other
options, including UVC-based systems, but Ms. Schmocker believes the one they
chose is the best solution for reducing infection risk.
"If you're dealing with shadowing or anything in the way of a surface, the UV
light will not penetrate the barrier and can't kill what it's supposed to, meaning
you have to stage the robot several times," she says. "Our unit covers every sur-
face in a single shot."
Ms. Schmocker puts the cost of each aerosol delivery device at about $80,000
with a 12-month warranty, though, she says, the hospital was able to negotiate a
slightly lower cost and an extended warranty by purchasing 2 units at once.
Based on the promising initial results of the technology, she's mulling the addi-
tion of a third unit.
A good cleaning protocol must not only rid surfaces of harmful bioburden, but
also work within your facility's workflow. Wendy Ferro-Grant, MSN, MBA,
CNOR, executive director of perioperative services and endoscopy at Mission
Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif., believes that adding 2 UV-C disinfection robots
as an adjunct to her hospital's high-touch cleaning processes has given her the
best of both worlds.
Ms. Ferro-Grant says her hospital's disinfection robot delivers metered doses of
UV-C light to higher-risk rooms — namely, those known or suspected to be infect-
ed C. diff and MRSA. And she likes receiving daily reports, accessed through an
• ALL FOR ONE High standards and a team approach to manual surface cleaning can help
maintain a low infection rate.
Mark
Voigt
