Spencer Hospital is First in Iowa to Implement Xenex Room Disinfection System

Spencer Hospital announces it is the first and only hospital in Iowa to implement Xenex Disinfection Services' UV room disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms.

A "green," mercury-free technology, the Xenex system is a fast, safes and effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause healthcare-acquired infections (HAI), such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

Xenex's room disinfection system uses pulsed xenon technology to deliver high-intensity, broad spectrum ultraviolet-C light to quickly kill microorganisms on surfaces without contact or chemicals. The UV-C light penetrates the cell walls of microorganisms, essentially fusing their DNA, leading to instant damage, the inability to reproduce or mutate, and destroying the organism. Uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, Spencer Hospital's environmental services staff operates the Xenex device without disrupting hospital operations. The system is capable of disinfecting a room in as little as five minutes and can disinfect over 30 rooms per day, so hospitals use the device continuously to reduce contamination levels throughout their facilities.

"We are very excited at Spencer Hospital to pioneer the use of this new technology that has shown to significantly reduce the microbial load on high-touch surfaces in patient rooms in a relatively short period of time," says DeeAnn Vaage, infection control coordinator at Spencer Hospital. "It is our goal to continually enhance the care we provide and since some infectious organisms are especially difficult to kill, even with the best cleaning products, Xenex's UV room disinfection device will help us improve patient safety and reduce our patients' risk of developing a healthcare-associated infection."

Numerous hospitals that have implemented the Xenex room disinfection system have documented reductions in the presence of drug-resistant microorganisms and observed a return on investment through operational cost savings.  In hospital trials, Xenex has consistently shown to be more than 20 times more effective than standard cleaning practices and a study performed at MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated that the Xenex system was more effective than bleach in reducing C. diff. in patient rooms.

Todd Rominger, director of environment services, says, "A big thank you goes to our Auxiliary volunteers who voted to purchase the Xenex technology using funds they've raised through various events and Gift Shop proceeds." As the donors, the hospital's auxiliary board selected a fun name for the machine, dubbing it "Violet" in honor of the unit's ultraviolet technology.

While the vendor-supplied studies on the Xenex system were impressive, Rominger explained that prior to purchasing the device, his team conducted its own study to evaluate the efficacy of the Xenex system.  Hospital personnel conducted a trial in patient rooms and ORs, which demonstrated that while the hospital's traditional cleaning methods well exceeded industry standards; they were even more impressed when after using the Xenex technology the presence of micro-bacteria was almost non-existent making the rooms safer for future patients.

"We are very excited to have the Xenex system as we have seen it can make a great difference in our health care mission," Rominger says. "According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), healthcare-associated infections, caused by deadly pathogens such as MRSA, C. diff, pneumonia and Acinetobacter, are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Our environmental services team does an excellent job which yields success in curtailing infection rates; however, this technology will help our great efforts be even better."

"The most important step in infection control begins with a clean environment and that's what the Xenex room disinfection system accomplishes. In just 5-10 minutes per room, our device can eliminate the deadly microorganisms and superbugs that cause infections. We have proven repeatedly that the science of our pulsed xenon light makes it incredibly effective against the most challenging bacteria, viruses and even C. diff spores," says Mark Stibich, PhD, chief scientific officer of Xenex.

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. 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 for disinfection in healthcare facilities worldwide. For more information, visit www.xenex.com.

Source: Xenex Disinfection Services