Surfacide Disinfection System Contributes to Reduction in C. diff for Faxton St. Luke's Hospital

Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare (FSLH) in Utica, N.Y., recently presented data of its one-year study on the effectiveness of its new Surfacide Helios Triple Emitter UV-C disinfection system. Heather Bernard, RN, BS, CIC, director of infection prevention for the Mohawk Valley Health System, presented data summarizing a dramatic reduction of C. difficile infections in 2014 at FSLH following the year-long use of bundled evidence-based interventions and Surfacide’s next generation, patented, UV-C delivery technology.

“Multi-drug-resistant organisms like C. diff have long been a formidable foe in healthcare environments,” notes Bernard. “The 39 percent reduction in C. diff infection rates is very significant and suggests that Surfacide’s technology holds promise for ensuring that patient-care areas are as microbe-free as possible.”

The Surfacide Helios system utilizes ultra-violet (UV-C) light energy, an evidenced-based disinfection modality for controlling microorganisms -- including those that are multi-drug resistant -- that cause healthcare-associated infections.  However, unlike the single emitter method that employs outmoded UV light energy and delivery technology and whose effectiveness is extremely diminished due to major challenges with distance to surface, lack of effective energy dose delivery and overall surfaces missed due to shadows, the Surfacide Helios system incorporates three separate emitters. This allows a larger space to be treated during the same disinfection cycle and substantially reduces the problem of shadowed areas. Furthermore, the system includes a validation component using a proprietary laser mapping technology. This results in a more intense level of energy being delivered to every surface, in less time and with confirmation. The Surfacide Helios system can treat an entire patient room via its three towers placed in a room typically in less than 20 minutes. Utilizing this system at the conclusion of a patient’s stay will help ensure that the room is safer for the next patient.

“The Faxton St. Luke’s data is impressive and supports what we are beginning to see in other health care institutions,” says Gunner Lyslo, chief executive officer of Surfacide. “What makes the findings exciting is that Faxton St. Luke’s team did not change any of the other evidence-based bundle components efforts (hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, or antibiotic stewardship) during the observation period. While this was not a clinical trial, the Faxton St. Luke’s team is confident that the Surfacide system made an important contribution to its C. diff control efforts.”

Source: Surfacide, LLC