Hospitals Discover the Benefits and Ease of Deploying Antimicrobial Copper Components

Even in the most proactive hospitals, bacteria can reside on surfaces for weeks and even months. But by simply installing antimicrobial copper hardware, hospitals across the country are supplementing their infection control programs.

Antimicrobial copper kills more than 99.9 percent of bacteria on surfaces within two hours in between routine cleanings and requires no additional staff training or special maintenance. To help educate hospital executives and their staff on the benefits and ease of installing copper components, the Copper Development Association (CDA) recently launched two videos: Installing Antimicrobial Copper Components and Cleaning and Maintaining Antimicrobial Copper Surfaces.

Featured in the video, Grinnell Regional Medical Center - the largest hospital in Iowa between Des Moines and Iowa City, consisting of 49 beds and serving 40,000 residents - is just one of the revolutionary hospitals that has begun installing antimicrobial copper hardware and components throughout its facility to further protect its patients, staff and visitors alike from harmful bacteria.

"A wonderful thing about copper is it’s doing its job to kill bacteria 24 hours a day 365 days a year, and so at the end of the day when I go home, I know that we've got a new ally for fighting the potential for infection in our hospital, and that makes me feel great,” said Todd Linden, president and CEO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center.

Today more than two dozen U.S. manufacturers are producing antimicrobial copper components that are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – everything from door handles, stair handrails, grab bars, sinks, carts and other healthcare equipment. With several different copper alloys to choose from, these durable products can exhibit the warm tones of brushed nickel, the colder gray of stainless steel, the warm yellows of brass and bronze, or the traditional red of copper. 

While routine cleaning to remove dirt and grime is necessary, antimicrobial copper is working to continuously kill harmful bacteria* in between cleanings.  Normal wear and even the natural oxidation of some copper alloys do not impair its efficacy.

“I think hospital staffs have been very impressed by antimicrobial copper’s beauty and ease of maintenance, which is one of the reasons hospitals across North America have begun installing this scientifically proven bacteria killing metal,” said Adam Estelle, a project engineer with CDA.

To view the videos, or for more information about antimicrobial copper, visit www.antimicrobialcopper.com/us

Source: Copper Development Association