Room Disinfection System Now at Moses Cone Health System

Moses Cone Health System is the first in North Carolina to use a high-tech germ killer called the Xenex PX-UV disinfection system. The device uses ultraviolet light and can disinfect a patient room in less than eight minutes.

"The new Xenex technology enables our team to provide a more thorough cleaning to every surface in a room, eliminating hard-to-kill organisms such as MRSA in a fraction of the time. How wonderful is that for our patients? Both more effective and efficient," says Dr. Mary Jo Cagle, chief quality officer at Moses Cone Health System.

The Xenex PX-UV device is a vacuum cleaner-like machine which is 36 inches tall. After thoroughly cleaning the patient room, the environmental services worker plugs the device in, presses two buttons and leaves the room. Eight minutes later, the room has been disinfected without the use of chemicals. Studies have found that the Xenex PX-UV device is 20 times more effective than chemical cleaning in killing germs.

The Xenex PX-UV device uses a powerful xenon light bulb that rises from the device once activated. Its pulses of UV light damage the DNA of bacteria and viruses, preventing them from being able to reproduce or mutate. The light kills germs on TV remotes, telephones, ceilings, curtains and other hard-to-disinfect surfaces.

"Innovative health care systems like Moses Cone Health System are investing in Xenex disinfection technology to make their patients safer," says Brian Cruver, CEO of Xenex Healthcare. "The Xenex system will help provide patients at Moses Cone with a safer patient environment by reducing the number of microorganisms which cause healthcare associated infections and thats a big step towards patient safety."

Moses Cone Health System is using the system at The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, Wesley Long Community Hospital and Annie Penn Hospital in Reidsville. Initially, it is being used to clean rooms where MRSA patients have stayed.