Banishing the superbugs
A silent battle rages between electromagnetic radiation and harmful microorganisms in select rooms at UF Health.
A silent battle rages between electromagnetic radiation and harmful microorganisms in select hospital rooms at UF Health Shands. Bluish light pours into cracks and crevices, probing for and killing resilient bacteria.
Ultraviolet light technology is at the forefront of infection control at health care facilities around the country. The UV rays assist in the fight against hospital-acquired infections by killing bacteria that are resistant to many cleaning products. Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is a particularly impervious microorganism that can cause potentially life-threatening infections.
“We want to do all we can to improve our environment — and new technologies help us in that effort,” said Scott Brown, UF Health Shands Hospital Infection Control director. “Even though it’s a relatively new technique, we do know that UV light kills germs on surfaces and that it works extremely well on organisms like C. diff.”
An interdisciplinary team that includes nurses, quality department representatives, infection control employees and environmental services staff meets monthly to discuss C. diff prevention. Like soldiers selecting suitable fortifications, the team carefully chooses the defenses that best accomplish the mission of protecting patients.
“When evaluating our C. diff cases, we decided we needed to go back to the drawing board,” said Kartik Cherabuddi, M.D., a UF College of Medicine associate epidemiologist and director of antibiotic stewardship. “We’re strengthening our infection control by using the technology and expertise our institution has to control exposure to these hearty spores.”
Three mobile machines, which are slightly more than 6 feet high, are armed with lasers that map the size of the room. Sensors ensure that the UV rays stop if anyone enters the space, while refraction allows light to reach into nooks and crannies. The machines are run by trained environmental services staff and are used in eight to 12 patient rooms each day. Treating each room takes about 30 minutes.
UV light is employed as an additional level of protection. The first offensive against microbes begins with human hands, clad in nitrile cleaning gloves and clutching sporicidal detergents. Formally known as a “terminal clean,” the initial sanitation process kills most of the bacteria. Bleach and a handful of other cleaners can eradicate C. diff, but UV light is especially effective at piercing the bacteria’s hard-to-kill spores.
Because of high patient volumes, the team limits the technology’s use to patient rooms that pose the highest risk. Spaces where patients were treated for C. diff are at the top of the list.
“The infection control team prioritizes where the machine should run and then we do the physical work of bringing it to the room and ensuring that it works,” said Michael Kennedy, UF Health Shands Support Services executive director. “It doesn’t replace the standard mechanical clean of the room — it’s an added step to help prevent the spread of C. diff.”