Rose Medical Center is First Hospital in Colorado to Implement Xenex Disinfection System

DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As hospitals across the nation look for new and innovative ways to battle deadly pathogens and kill multi-drug resistant organisms that put patients at risk, Rose Medical Center has become the first hospital in Colorado to install a germ-zapping robot that eliminates hard-to-kill bugs in hard-to-clean places.

Xenex Disinfection Services’ UV disinfection system is the fastest, safest and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAI).

HAIs, which are caused by deadly pathogens such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), pneumonia and Acinetobacter, are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Xenex disinfection device uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV-C) light that is 25,000 times more powerful than sunlight to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and even bacterial spores. The system is effective against even the most dangerous pathogens, including C. diff, norovirus, influenza and staph bacteria including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA. In minutes the device can disinfect a patient room, patient bathroom or operating room by pulsing light, which washes over the surfaces where germs reside.

The Xenex system has been credited for helping other healthcare facilities in the U.S. decrease their MRSA and C. diff infection rates. The Xenex UV disinfection system can disinfect a room in minutes and is easily portable, allowing it to be used in virtually any location within the hospital. Because the light is extremely intense, the machine operates on its own once it’s set up in a room. For enhanced safety, a sign placed outside the door warns people not to enter, and a motion sensor automatically shuts off the machine if someone should enter.

“At Rose, the safety of the patient is always our top priority,” said Lynne Wagner, Chief Nursing Officer at Rose Medical Center. “There is a lot we can do with hospital-grade germicides and bleach to sterilize surfaces, but there are always nooks and crannies that are hard to reach, and some bugs like C. diff are even showing resistance to chemical disinfectants. That’s why it was crucial for us to take this battle against hospital acquired infections to the next level, and the Xenex robot allows us to do just that.”

About Rose Medical Center

Well known as a Denver institution and a 9th Avenue landmark for more than 60 years, Rose Medical Center has earned its reputation as Denver’s “Baby Hospital” while becoming a leader in comprehensive women’s, surgical and endoscopy services, heart and vascular, orthopedics, total joint replacement, bariatrics, and sports, internal and aesthetic medicine. With origins in Jewish teachings, traditions and community, Rose’s founders built this hospital to “serve the need of every creed.”

By offering a high level of expertise and service across all disciplines, Rose has truly become a destination hospital, attracting patients from throughout Colorado and around the world. Learn more at www.rosemed.com.

About Xenex Disinfection Services

Xenex’s patented pulsed xenon UV room disinfection system is a pesticidal device used for the advanced environmental cleaning of healthcare facilities. The Xenex system has been repeatedly shown to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations because of its speed and ease of use. The Xenex mission is to eliminate bacteria, viruses and spores in the patient environment that can cause hospital acquired infections and to become the new standard method of disinfection in healthcare facilities worldwide. For more information, visit www.xenex.com.

Contacts

Rose Medical Center
Cara Welch, 303-320-2819
Cara.Welch@HealthONEcares.com
or
Xenex Disinfection Services
Melinda Hart, 210-240-4669
melinda.hart@xenex.com

 

Cleaning of Healthcare. Loyola University Health System. Infectious Disease

Hospitals are synonymous with cleanliness and now Loyola University Health System is the first academic medical center in Illinois to take disinfection to futuristic levels. Nicknamed “Ralph” by the housekeeping staff at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital and “little Joe” at Loyola University Medical Center, 3-foot upright cylindrical robots provide the finishing touches to room sanitation. A rotating telescopic head emits cidal ultraviolet (UV) rays for 15 minutes in closed, unoccupied rooms to systematically kill germs dead.

Germ-fighting robots that pulse UV light are used by Loyola University Health System to fight infectious disease.

“Loyola is a world leader in infection control and now the addition of automated room disinfection reinforces our ongoing commitment to patient safety,” says Jorge Parada, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, medical director, Infection Control Program, Loyola University Health System. “Loyola is doing everything humanly possible to control disease and that includes robotics.”

According to studies, the disinfection robots eliminate Clostridium difficile (C. diff) in less than 4 minutes and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in less than 2 minutes. “The robots are used for further disinfection in the operating suites and patient rooms including isolation, burn and transplant,” says

Alex Tomich, DNP, RN, CIC, manager, infection prevention and control at Loyola. “Loyola takes very seriously its responsibility to protect patients, visitors and our hospital staff from infections and we are early adopters of proven technology as well as best practices.”

The hospital housekeeping staff cleans the rooms and then uses the robots for additional sterilization. The pulsed UV light destroys viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores without human contact or use of chemicals.

Hospital infections are linked to approximately 100,000 deaths each year and add as much as $30 billion a year in medical costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Loyola is a crusader in the war on infectious disease. Loyola was the first university medical center to screen all hospital patients for MRSA, is in its fifth year of mandatory flu vaccination for employees, students, volunteers and vendors and uses advanced laboratory technology to accurately identify 17 viral and 3 bacterial pathogens in about 60 minutes. Loyola is no stranger to robotics and currently uses telemedicine robots for surgery and in the emergency department to diagnose stroke patients.:

Source:  Loyola Fights Infectious Disease The Modern Way – With Robots

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Cleaning of Healthcare Facilities. Xenex System

Xenex’s patented pulse xenon UV room disinfection system is a pesticidal device used for the advanced environmental cleaning of healthcare facilities. The Xenex system has been repeatedly shown to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations because of its speed and ease of use.

Features Include

Pulsed-Xenon UV Lamp
Using a Xenon bulb, a powerful, non-mercury form of UV light, combined with a pulse technology that generates high intensity pulses, which makes Xenex the most powerful form of UV-C.

UV Focus System
Uses reflectors and movement to focus UV light towards “high touch” surfaces.

On-Board Database
Logs system activity for utilization tracking and analysis.

Visible Light Filter
Blocks the bright xenon pulse, so that rooms with interior glass can be treated without distraction.

Safety Features
Built in safety timer, emergency stop button, automatic shutdown motion detection system.

The New UV

Pulsed xenon disinfection was developed in the late 1970s and represents an advance over the earlier mercury vapor systems (note: if it is not pulsed xenon, then the system uses mercury lamps). Pulsed xenon UV has a number of advantages over mercury vapor systems:

1. Green
The xenon gas used in our system is inert. We are a certified green technology because the only alternative commercially available means to produce UV for room disinfection uses mercury vapor lamps. Many organizations, including the WHO, have long sought to reduce and eliminate the presence of mercury in hospitals. We help them achieve that goal.

2.  Intense:
The pulse produced by our patented pulsed xenon system is approximately 25,000 times more intense than the output of a mercury vapor lamp. Because of this, we can penetrate and damage organisms in unique ways. This is especially important as our pulse, because of the intensity, reflects with different properties allowing for our proven disinfection results.

3.  Multiple Pathways of Damage
Not only is the pulsed xenon pulse more intense, it also contains multiple frequencies of germicidal UV. It is known that microorganisms are susceptible to UV damage in the range or 200 to 280 nanometers. Pulsed xenon produces frequencies across this range whereas as mercury vapor systems produce UV at 253.7 nanometers, which has about a 40% efficiency for DNA damage. Because our pulse contains higher energy wavelengths, the Xenex system damages cell walls, cellular structures as well as emits UV at 260-265 nanometers, which is mirrors the peak DNA/RNA absorbency