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online portal, that let her know exactly which rooms got treated and when.
Mission Hospital's disinfection robots are currently being used to treat 16
ORs, including 3 labor and delivery units, as well as cath labs and other areas
with a high infection risk. Last year, Mission Hospital had only 1 deep organ-
space SSI among all total hip cases — "an extremely significant drop," says Ms.
Ferro-Grant — and zero surgical site infections out of 330 total knee replace-
ments. She doesn't attribute the improved outcomes solely to the disinfection
robots, but she's confident they played a significant role.
All hands on deck
Even so, the high cost of entry might be deterring broader adoption of whole-
room disinfection solutions. Some surgical facility leaders are dubious about
the cost-to-benefit ratio.
LoAnn Vande Leest, RN, MBA-H, CNOR, CASC, CHSP, the CEO of
Northwest Michigan Surgery Center in Traverse City, says a team approach to
between-case cleanings has helped the center maintain a low infection rate. It
also holds an outsourced cleaning crew for terminal cleanings to a high stan-
dard. This two-pronged approach appears to be paying off: The center hosts
more than 21,000 annual cases and had just 10 SSIs last year, says Ms. Vande
Leest.
"We do 85 to 100 cases a day, and we use disinfecting wipes between cases
that have a 2-minute dwell time," adds Christy Bingham, RN, the center's clinical
director and infection control practitioner. "With all of us pitching in, turning
over a room could take 2 to 3 minutes."
The center is now looking to increase its volume of total joints cases, which
are known for their infection risk. Although they're confident in their current
protocol, Ms. Bingham and Ms. Vande Leest will keep their eyes open for ways to
mitigate risk. Will whole-room disinfection play a role going forward?
"Maybe if the technology gets to the point where it's more affordable, we'll
