“Today and every day, more than 200 Americans with healthcare-associated infections will die during their hospital stay,” CDC Director Tom Frieden
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the results of a study that unveiled the grim risk of acquiring an infection during a hospital stay. They noted that 1 in 25 people in a hospital will acquire an infection during their course of care. An article in the Washington Post clearly described those risks in this way:
“The CDC’s 2011 survey of 183 hospitals showed that an estimated 648,000 patients nationwide suffered 721,000 infections, and 75,000 of them died…”
Finding solutions to this monumental loss of life requires innovative strategies. When you take into consideration the fact that many infectious organisms are now resistant to antibiotics, the available strategies become limited.
The World Health Organization detailed a focused strategy in a recent publication that should be the cornerstone of every facility that is concerned with the risk of disease transmission. Here is a quote from that document:
“Thus any comprehensive strategy to address the threat of antimicrobial resistance must aim to decrease the transmission of resistant organisms – in homes, communities, healthcare settings, food chains, water supplies, and international trade routes.”
In a home, decreasing the transmission of disease can be as simple as washing your hands or covering your mouth when you sneeze. In a hospital setting, where there are a large number of sick people gathered, decreasing transmission is a far more complex situation.
An article in the journal of Epidemiology and Infection discussed the concerns with the transmission of airborne infections in enclosed spaces and the ultraviolet light solution that is being looked at more closely:
“These concerns [airborne spread of disease]together with the more recent threat of bioterrorism attacks involving the deliberate release of an airborne infectious agent have prompted a resurgence of interest in measures to control airborne pathogens. Methods that have recently been discussed by researchers in the area include improving mechanical ventilation…and the use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) devices both within rooms and in air-conditioning ducts.”
In an era when antibiotics are increasingly ineffective against the spread of disease, new solutions are required. One of the most promising systems The Energy Alliance Group continues to promote is the in-room Arcalux Health Risk Management System (HRMS) that uses ultraviolet light to constantly rid the air of infectious organisms. Because it is an in-room system, it provides immediate and constant protection that effectively surrounds a patient with clean air.
Hospitals are always questioning their “return on investment” when they initiate new technologies. Preventing the unnecessary airborne spread of disease could be one of the most productive investments for patient health as well as the health of those who administer care. Hospitals should be a place to get well and not a place where you acquire disease!
The Energy Alliance Group (EAG) of North America is an energy solutions company providing energy saving products, technologies and services.
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