In an effort to reduce the growing number of deadly healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the United States, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now estimates at more than 1.7 million annually, Medline Industries, Inc., announced an exclusive partnership with Infection Prevention Technologies, LLC (IPT) to market a mobile UV-C (high intensity ultraviolet light) room disinfection system that has been shown to dramatically reduce pathogens found on surfaces within healthcare settings.

In the agreement, Medline will act as the exclusive distributor and marketer of IPT’s mobile UV-C room disinfection device called the Intelligent Room Sterilization™ system (IRS 3200m) with the Steri-TrakTM service documentation system. The IRS 3200m applies an automatically determined UV-C dose to selected rooms to aid in the destruction of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). The CDC cites antibiotic resistant bacteria as a “public health problem of increasing magnitude,” with the national annual cost of HAIs ranging from $35.7 billion to $45 billion.

“The environment is increasingly being found to be a key risk factor for transmitting hard-to-kill organisms to workers and patients,” said Greg Shannon, vice president of Medline’s Preventive Care division. “IPT’s UV disinfection systems are an innovative and highly effective way to destroy dangerous germs found on surfaces in the healthcare setting, including Clostridium difficile.”

The device’s Steri-TrakTM service documentation system captures key information, including verifying which rooms have been treated, when and by whom. The data is uploaded to a web-based server to document the UV-C treatment of the room, which helps facility supervisors more effectively manage their disinfecting programs.

The device is easy to operate and generally takes less than 15 minutes to treat a typical patient room, compared to an average of 30-50 minutes for standard cleaning procedures. Although incredibly high-tech, the device requires only the power from a typical electrical outlet. The rapid treatment times with single placement is achieved with proprietary power-boost technology and energy management system.

A recent study of 30 patient rooms at Florida Hospital Tampa showed a 99 percent reduction in the bacteria in the rooms after they were treated with the IRS 3200m. “The device virtually eliminated any organism that could potentially cause disease in the next patient that would go in that room,” said Jackie Whitaker, RN, MS, CIC, director of infection control at Florida Hospital Tampa. “In addition to the impact on patient and worker safety, each infection can cost an additional $25,000 - $40,000.”

The IRS 3200m, which resembles a large, high-tech bug zapper, is a mobile device that stands about five feet tall and two feet in diameter. It produces the highest intensity UV-C field available in a mobile platform. When not in use, emitters are covered by an automated shutter system to protect the emitters and reflectors during transportation and storage. It operates with a hand-held remote providing bar code room addressing for accuracy and wireless 3G communication for real-time updates. Room treatment information is available for authorized users on any web-enabled PC as part of the Steri-TrakTM service documentation system. For added safety, the system employs multiple motion detection systems to prevent persons from accidental or intentional UV exposure.

About Medline
As the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, Medline manufactures and distributes more than 125,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, physician offices, home care dealers, agencies and major retail outlets. Headquartered in Mundelein, Ill., Medline has more than 1,100 dedicated sales representatives nationwide to support its broad product line, clinical programs and cost management services. For more information, visit www.medline.com.Posted by Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief, MDT