Ochsner began implementing its new disinfection protocols in August with 10 Xenex LightStrike robots. The robots were used to disinfect rooms after discharges and patient transfers. In addition to seeing a 49 percent decrease in overall infection rates, the hospital specifically achieved a 49 percent decline in Clostridium difficile.
“Patient safety has always been our top priority. We are continuously evaluating opportunities to improve our efforts and implement best practices, and we wanted to take an evidence-based approach to pulsed xenon UV room disinfection,” said Sandy Kemmerly, MD, an infectious disease specialist with Ochsner Medical Center. “We are very pleased with our early results showing close to 50 percent reduction in infection rates in the units we have deployed the robots and look forward to expanding the program to other areas of the hospital.”
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