UV light disinfection in healthcare settings: Webinar recap

They’re lurking everywhere. Bacteria and viruses find all the surfaces in a patient or resident room. How do you keep them safe—and the next patient or resident brought into that room?

In this three-part webinar focused on the environment of care, experts explain how adding UV light to your cleaning protocols can kill more surface pathogens and prevent indirect transmission of infections. Watch the webinar now to get the full story or read on for key takeaways.

Nikki Cracknell, MS, RN, Medline Senior Manager of Clinical Development and Medical Science Liaison in Medical Affairs, kicks off the webinar, “Surface Disinfection Utilizing UV Light,” by explaining how long different pathogens can stay on a surface. She then assesses best practices for surface cleaning and disinfection protocols.

Next, Caleb Mavar, MPH, BSN, RN, CCRP, a clinical research nurse at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, explains how UV light technology kills microorganisms by altering and/or disrupting DNA structure. Adding UV light to existing protocols to disinfect high-touch surfaces makes a big difference.

And what about your “third hand?” Every day, you use cell phones and tablets to provide care more efficiently. But hands contaminate cell phones and cell phones contaminate hands, which can result in a contaminated environment.

Sue Barnes, RN, CIC, FAPIC, clinical consultant, infection prevention and control, focuses on the challenges of cleaning electronic devices and keeping the environment clean—especially as patients and visitors bring their own mobile devices into patient rooms. Using UV light to disinfect these devices provides major advantages over using germicidal wipes.

Ultimately, UV light is a game changer for stopping the spread of infection.

Pathogens can live for months on surfaces that are not properly cleaned and disinfected. You can help reduce patient infection rates by adding UV light to your EVS protocols.