Environmental Services

A new clinical study published in the American Journal of Infection Control confirms copper’s ability to continuously kill harmful bacteria in hospital settings. Grinnell College associate professor of biology Shannon Hinsa-Leasure, PhD, and her team conducted research over 18 months at Grinnell College and Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) in Iowa with more than 1,500 samples. The research found significantly fewer bacteria on copper alloy products such as grab bars, toilet flush valves, IV poles, switches, keyboards, sinks and dispensers than on traditional hospital room surfaces.  In this case, products used in the study were made from CuVerro® copper alloys, one of several EPA-registered brands of antimicrobial copper materials.

This report addresses issues relating to the use of spray cleaner-disinfectants and the importance of using the right product for any cleaning and disinfection task.

As researchers gain increasing experience with UV-C light, they are reporting encouraging results related to efficacy against some of the most problematic pathogens in hospitals today.

A couple of years ago, there was a report in the news that during 2008 and 2009 five children died at a Louisiana children’s hospital from an infection passed to them through their hospital linens. To follow up on this tragedy, a reporter wanted to know if there had been any changes made in how the hospital laundered its linens. The reporter posed this question to the hospital’s associate medical director of patient safety and quality. According to her account, the reporter asked the medical director who was the hospital’s current launderer. First, the medical director responded that he didn’t think it was pertinent, and then he said he didn’t know. And he said he didn’t know a second time when asked the same question at a subsequent news conference. Keep in mind: This is the hospital’s director of patient safety and quality.

New research indicates that brief heat treatment is a promising way to decrease the spread of bed bugs being transported on the outer surface of luggage. When soft-sided suitcases with male bed bugs on the outside were exposed to an air temperature of 70 degrees to 75 degrees C, it took only six minutes to kill all of the bed bugs, even those that had concealed themselves under zipper flaps or decorative piping. During heating, only one bed bug (out of 250 total) moved into the luggage (through a closed zipper). Also, at room temperature, only three percent of bugs placed on the outside of the suitcases had moved inside during a 24-hour period.