Photo (l to r): Cindy Carstens, CEO; Chirs Smith; Shirly Naughton; Jodi Collier; Linda Ringgenberg; Shonnez Helms; Teresa Snyder; Jim Henkenius, CFO; Noel Conroy; Andreau Kramer; Rachel Lode; Amy Lengeling, CNO; and Courtni McLaughlin
Stewart Memorial Community Hospital (SMCH) in Lake City recently took delivery of four high-tech, life-saving pieces of equipment. The UVC disinfection robots will be used to reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), which can lead to increased morbidity, mortality and cost to the patient and hospital and can extend hospital stays. “Studies suggest that contaminated environmental surfaces can contribute to transmission of HAIs,” says Infection Control Epidemiologist at McLaren-Oakland, Rhonda Leitch, RN, BSN, CIC. “The Centers for Disease Control confirm that each day, about one in 31 U.S. patients has at least one infection associated with hospital care. That is 1.7 million patients with an estimated 98,000 patients dying because of improper sanitation.” With the safety of their patients the primary concern, the SMCH administration researched ways to decrease HAIs that made sense for a critical access hospital. “While our environmental services team does an outstanding job in ensuring patient and staff areas exceed cleaning standards, the technology of the disinfection robots add an extra layer of security for the safety of our patients,” says CEO, Cindy Carstens. “We felt the investment in this technology was crucial for our mission as we are committed to quality health and wellness for those in the communities we serve.” The hospital was able to utilize an Iowa Department of Public Health COVID Response grant for the purchase of the four Skytron UVC disinfection robots. These units work in tandem to emit industry-leading germicidal energy with the flexibility of a dual-emitter platform. This results in very fast and highly effective disinfection treatments. The environmental services and operating room staff have undergone training on the robots and utilizing begins after setup is complete.
