The Importance of Disinfecting Every Surface
Patients rely on hospitals to help them heal, but the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is a significant impediment to that. According to the CDC, one in 31 hospital patients will battle an HAI—that’s approximately 1.7 million patients infected every year in the U.S. It’s critical that hospitals ensure that infectious diseases do not spread from surface to surface, room to room, floor to floor, and between departments. This means that every surface must be cleaned and disinfected.
With manual cleaning methods, some spots get missed. This could be because areas are hard to reach or that medical equipment and patient beds can cast shadows. Not all rooms are the same shape and size. This is why IP protocol needs to be flexible to meet the needs of each room and keep shadows and hard-to-reach areas in mind.
How UVC Can Help
According to the FDA, UVC radiation is a known disinfectant for air and nonporous surfaces. UVC radiation has effectively been used for decades to reduce the spread of bacteria and harmful pathogens. When bundled with manual cleaning and disinfection protocols, the technology significantly reduces the presence of patient exposure to HAIs.
UVC radiation can only inactivate a virus if the virus is directly exposed to the radiation. If a surface is under a shadow, it won’t be disinfected. Some UVC systems don’t administer the proper dose and miss areas with dangerous pathogens. The right UVC system should have a “pause and reposition” feature that helps operators ensure every area of the room has received optimal dosage. UVC systems address variables such as room shape and other obstacles that might prevent areas from being disinfected. A UV disinfection system should administer the specific dose of ultraviolet light needed to eradicate harmful pathogens in an operating room, emergency room, patient room, or other area of possible contamination. The best UVC solutions work to reach all areas within a treated room, including those in shadowed or hard-to-reach places.
A system with these features is perfect for disinfecting hard-to-reach areas because the disinfection process can be customized for each room. Get more information on how the experts at Steriliz can help you evaluate your specific room set-up and determine what UVC system works best.