Minifying the Risk of Infection in Your Healthcare Facility
Even before the Coronavirus epidemic, infections – both HAIs and community-spread pathogens – had long been a major issue for the healthcare industry. Hospitals, outpatient surgical facilities, dental practices, VA health providers, and long-term care facilities regularly seek new strategies to prevent infection with effective, efficient tools that are proven to work. While the immediate surge and intense focus on combating the current pandemic might have eased, healthcare leaders must be ready to combat the next infection risk while also mitigating known pathogens including MRSA, C. difficile, and the current Coronavirus strain. Ensure your facility is future-proofed for today and tomorrow’s infection risks through a reassessment of your processes, procedures, and IP solution investments.
#1: Focus Efforts on Prevalence and Mortality Factors
When determining if your facility has the best operations and tools to combat infection it’s wise to focus on infection-related health concerns that most often occur and most often result in significant health outcomes including death.
#2: Leverage Tools That Provide Evidence-Based IP Results
With the surge in awareness of pathogens and associated infections in healthcare environments, there is a significant need for improved disinfection of procedure and treatment rooms. Infection prevention tools can decrease both HAI and community-spread rates and represent real long-term savings for any healthcare facility. Leveraging tools that offer evidence-based protection is the best way to address infection prevention.
#3: Invest Today to Combat Tomorrow’s Deadly Infections
Technology investments are often one of the largest line items for a healthcare facility. These expenditures must make fiscal sense in the long run, provide cost savings, and have wide-reaching effects throughout the organization. These factors, along with critical IP efforts, make now the perfect time to invest in a UVC system that will protect your patients, staff, and community for years to come. Some key considerations when evaluating potential UVC systems include:
- Select a UVC partner that will comprehensively evaluate your facility to recommend the right solution for your environment. That might be a mobile system that can be repositioned to reach every corner of shadowed space or a fixed system that can disinfect a treatment room in less than 2 minutes.
- Instead of relying on staff to evaluate efficacy before and after cleaning, your UVC partner should offer actual proof of compliance back to your IP team.
- Make sure your UVC system is smart and can monitor bulb life cycle, required delivered dosage, and regular service so you can focus on other parts of your IP plan.
- Ease of use is also a critical factor when selecting the best UVC system. Your staff should be able to incorporate usage into their current routine, which might mean the ability to easily move the device or having a panel outside of the room for simple operation. A UVC system that’s easier to use means quicker turnaround time and less chance for infection spread.
- Not all environments are perfect rectangles so the best UVC systems address variables such as room shape and other obstacles that might affect how light hits every part of the room. UVC systems that have a pause and reposition feature allows the unit to be moved mid-cleaning to ensure disinfection is happening throughout the entire room.
Ensure Your Facility Is Prepared to Prevent Infections Today and for Years to Come
Learn more about how to ensure your facility is prepared to prevent infections today and for years to come.