Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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Northwell now using PurpleSun UV technology to disinfect operating rooms
Northwell Health hospitals are now using a patented form of ultraviolet technology to reduce pathogens in the environment that present the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
This new light-based technology, developed by PurpleSun, has been rolled out at two Northwell hospitals - Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco and Staten Island University Hospital's (SIUH) north campus - to enhance disinfection in operating rooms and the equipment within them.
This modular system can be deployed almost anywhere in a hospital, but the first applications and protocols were developed for operating rooms. Northern Westchester acquired two of the devices and SIUH is using one. Northwell is the world's first health system to deploy PurpleSun's focused multivector ultraviolet (FMUV) technology.
A study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Infection Control showed that PurpleSun's patented, wavelength delivery system eliminated up to 97.7% of pathogens in a live operating room setting. A second AJIC study published earlier this Summer also showed that integrating PurpleSun technology as a parallel process does not increase cleaning and disinfection time.
The FMUV technology surrounds equipment on all sides and disinfects in 90-second exposure intervals. The unit's modular design also allows for compact folding and easy storage.
"While UV technology will not replace the manual cleaning and disinfection process, PurpleSun's platform all but eliminates pathogens in operating rooms that could potentially contribute to the development of infection," says Donna Armellino, RN, DNP, vice president of infection prevention at Northwell Health.
Operating room staff, environmental services and infection prevention personnel at Northern Westchester and SIUH were trained on the use of the technology in August, and the devices are already being used in 11 operating rooms at Northern Westchester, and 10 operating rooms and one cystoscopy room at Staten Island.
Northwell Health's for-profit subsidiary, Northwell Holdings and Ventures, has invested in PurpleSun to continue to advance the technology and expand the application to other patient care areas.
Northwell Health is New York State's largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, about 750 outpatient facilities and more than 13,600 affiliated physicians. It cares for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond and boasts 70,000 employees - 16,000-plus nurses and 4,000 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners.
northwell.edu
7th November 2019