CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chambersburg Hospital received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ (2017 and 2018) while also being named one of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals™ for Coronary Intervention, Orthopedic Surgery, Pulmonary Care, and Critical Care in 2018. As evidence of its ongoing commitment to patient safety, Chambersburg Hospital invested in state-of-the-art Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots for room disinfection and make their utilization its environmental standard of care.
LightStrike robots emit intense, pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light that quickly and effectively disinfects patient rooms of hard to kill pathogens such as Clostridium difficile (C.diff), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). After a room is manually cleaned by a member of the hospital’s Environmental Services team, a robot is wheeled in and run for 5 minutes on each side of the patient bed. The robot bathes the room in intense UV light, leaving any remaining pathogens nowhere to hide. The robot does not require warm-up or cool-down time, so once a disinfection cycle is finished it is immediately available for transport to the next room.
“The microorganisms that cause infections are becoming resistant to cleaning chemicals and antibiotics, so we recognized the need for new weapons to fight them. We are using the LightStrike robots on our 6 highest risk units after every discharge to provide a properly disinfected room for the next patient. So far, we have seen a 50% reduction in C.diff rates and we are very proud of the work our team is doing to get our patients home as quickly and safely as possible,” says Ruth Freshman, Infection Preventionist at Chambersburg Hospital.
Chambersburg Hospital originally purchased three robots and closely monitored utilization and the robots’ impact on infection rates. After seeing initial positive infection reduction results, they added three more robots to disinfect additional rooms and areas within the facility. With the rise of superbugs, hospitals are increasingly adopting LightStrike pulsed xenon UV technology as standard of care to help ensure a clean and safe environment for their patients. LightStrike robots are now in over 400 hospitals, and the robots have been credited in multiple peer-reviewed, published studies with helping hospitals decrease C.diff, MRSA and Surgical Site Infection rates by 46% - 100%.
“We are honored to be one of Chambersburg Hospital’s infection prevention partners,” says Irene Hahn, vice president of sales and account management for Xenex. “After carefully reviewing the scientific evidence from other facilities that are using LightStrike robots, Chambersburg Hospital made the initial investment to deploy our technology. Within a few months, they see saw a positive impact on their infection rates and expanded the program. The robots have paid for themselves as a result of fewer infections – which is what we consistently hear from other hospitals around the U.S. We are proud to honor them as a Visionary Hospital for the outstanding work they are doing to set new standards for patient care.”
According to Xenex, Visionary Hospitals are defined as hospitals that 1. Make patient safety a top priority; 2. Seek out and implement technologies with multiple proven outcomes published in peer reviewed publications; 3. Follow manufacturer recommended best practices; 4. Publicize and share results to improve best practices for all hospitals; 5. Openly share their data for their benefit and the benefit of all mankind.
About Chambersburg Hospital
Chambersburg Hospital is part of Summit Health, a nonprofit health system that is dedicated to building a healthier community. As Franklin County's leading healthcare provider, Summit Health operates two award-winning hospitals in Chambersburg and Waynesboro, 33 outpatient specialty and primary-care practices throughout Franklin County, lab and imaging services, a fitness center, and two walk-in care centers. Visit SummitHealth.org.
About Xenex Disinfection Services
Xenex's patented Full SpectrumTM pulsed xenon UV room disinfection system is used for the advanced disinfection of healthcare facilities. Due to its speed and ease of use, the Xenex system has proven to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations. Xenex’s mission is to save lives and reduce suffering by destroying the deadly microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs). The company is backed by well-known investors that include EW Healthcare Partners, Piper Jaffray Merchant Services, Malin Corporation, Battery Ventures, Tectonic Ventures, Targeted Technology Fund II and RK Ventures. For more information, visit Xenex.com.