OLATHE, KAN. (March 10, 2017) – Olathe Medical Center (OMC) is one of the first hospitals in the Kansas City region to offer an advanced, self-contained, “robotic” ultraviolet disinfection system to clean hospital rooms and better protect patients against potentially deadly infections.
The UV system uses three separate UV-emitting towers at the same time, which emit powerful yet safe UV-C energy that is effective against bacteria, spores and viruses, including superbugs. The system has been shown in independent studies to reduce hospital-acquired infections and significantly lower infection rates.
“Protecting patients against infection has always been a top priority for us,” Stan Stuckey, Infection Prevention Coordinator at OMC, said. “This is evidenced by a recent honor we received from Consumer Reports as the safest hospital in the metropolitan area. We chose this system because it has shown to be among the best technology available. It provides an extra layer of protection for both patients and staff. That’s especially important because hospitals today need to take every available step to guard against infection from antibiotic-resistant organisms and other infectious agents.”
The system takes 10 to 30 minutes to disinfect the room and uses laser mapping to confirm every exposed surface is completely covered during each disinfection cycle. The UV system is used in rooms that have housed patients with multi-drug resistant organisms, and will also be used in any available patient room when the system is not already in use.
“An environment free of pathogens is crucial to reducing healthcare-associated infections in hospitals,” said Stuckey. “It’s no longer enough to rely just on approaches such as antibiotics and manual disinfection. We feel confident this UV disinfection system will help us continue to provide a safe environment for our patients and be a leader in quality care.”