Sage Products Receives Frost & Sullivan Product Differentiation Excellence Award

Sage Products Inc. announces that it has received the Product Differentiation Excellence Award from Frost & Sullivan for the new Nose to Toes preoperative prep system. Frost & Sullivan is a global research organization that monitors more than 300 industries and 25,000 companies.

The Nose to Toes system, a joint product between Sage Products and 3Ms Infection Prevention Division, provides skin antisepsis, nasal antisepsis and oral cleansing to help address infection risk factors on the three main reservoirs of bacteriathe skin, the nares and the oral cavity. The system is used before surgery as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing the No. 1 risk factor for surgical site infection, the patients own flora.

With this simple intervention, hospitals can improve patient lives and provide extraordinary outcomes, says Scott Brown, president and COO of Sage Products. Our customers are looking for new tools to reduce HAIs, such as SSIs, in a cost-effective manner. The Nose to Toes solution provides these tools in a single kit.

Our companies are committed to providing clinicians with convenient options to prevent surgical site infections in their patients, says Debra Rectenwald, President and General Manager, 3M Infection Prevention Division. By packaging our products together in a cost-effective, convenient kit, we are working together to achieve our mutual goals of reducing infections and better patient outcomes.

The Product Differentiation Excellence Award recognizes the Nose to Toes kits unique features and functionality as well as its ability to meet the needs of the global market. Frost & Sullivan reports that the patient preoperative prep market is driven by three factorsan expected increase in surgical procedures, increasing emphasis on patient safety and patients developing awareness about disinfection practices.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Surgical site infections and hospital-acquired infections are of great concern to patients, healthcare institutions and healthcare workers. The costs associated with additional days of hospitalization and even mortality make these two of the primary challenges for any healthcare institution undertaking invasive procedures.

The introduction of Nose to Toes in the global market has enhanced the availability of high-quality patient prepping products for surgical prepping, nicely fulfilling a niche requirement in the infection control industry.

In recognizing Sage, Frost & Sullivan benchmarked the companys performance against key competitors. Award criteria included unique features and functionality; matched to target markets needs; and brand perception of the products uniqueness. After comparing Nose to Toes with competitors, Frost & Sullivan determined the system matches target market needs to a greater degree than that of the product offerings from its competitors.

The three-part Nose to Toes kit includes:

 Sage® 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) Cloths, a rinse-free solution that stays on skin for effective skin antisepsis.

  3M Skin and Nasal antiseptic, which reduces bacterial counts in the nares in one hour and maintains the reduction for at least 12 hours.

 A Sage Ultra-Soft Toothbrush to help remove dental plaque and a single-dose bottle of 3M Peridex (Chlorhexidine Gluconate 0.12%) Oral Rinse to provide antimicrobial activity during oral rinsing.

For more information on the Nose to Toes system, visit http://www.sageproducts.com/products/preoperative-care/nose-to-toes.cfm