Passavant Area Hospital has a new member to its team. The hospital recently purchased a 3rd UVC disinfection robot for the Environmental Services Team using funds from a multi-year gift from the Maurice C. Funk Trust.
The robot is used in operating room suites, isolation rooms and patient rooms to stop the spread of hospital-acquired infections, including C.diff, MRSA, and norovirus. These known hospital-acquired infections cost hospitals around the nation about $11 billion annually.
The new robot will be dedicated to the Transitional Care Unit, but will be available throughout the hospital as needed. The robot will be named in memory of Maurice’s wife, Ruby.
After an Environmental Services employee cleans a room using traditional methods, the five-foot, five-inch robot is brought in to complete the cleaning process. From outside the room, the employee remotely activates the robot using an iPad. After an analysis of the room, the robot delivers a single cycle of UVC light which kills 99.9% of pathogens.
The robot cleans a typical patient room in approximately 20-25 minutes, freeing up Environmental Services employees for other tasks during the cleaning cycle. Once the cleaning cycle is complete, the robot automatically stops and sends an audio signal to the operator that cleaning is complete.
The cost of the robot was just over $95,000.