The Doctors, an Emmy Award-winning, nationally syndicated talk show, recently discussed hospital cleanliness and a unique disinfection solution, TRU-D SmartUVC.
Viewers who tuned into the Jan. 14, 2013Â nationally televised TV show were introduced to the reality and the dangers of contaminated surfaces in hospitals. A series of on-screen images showed infectious patients spewing contagions into the air with every breath, cough and sneeze to illustrate how easily dangerous pathogens are transmitted.
Co-host and ER physician Travis Stork shared statistics about the alarming rate of infections contracted by hospitalized patients. "Healthcare facilities strive to maintain a clean environment, but studies show that while surfaces are disinfected on a regular basis, up to 40 percent of infections are transmitted from contaminated surfaces to patients." According to Stork, contaminated hospital surfaces directly cause "1.7 million Americans to acquire new infections during hospital stays, which kill 44,000 to 98,000 people every year."
"TRU-D SmartUVC is engineered to kill the nasty bugs that live on surfaces in hospital rooms," says Stork. "Research shows that UV light can kill bugs, MRSA, C. diff, Acinetobacter and bacteria that traditional scrubbing with disinfectants just don't kill. It (UVC light) bounces off surfaces and kills everything." Pediatrician and fellow TV panelist Jim Sears adds, "It'll go around corners and gets under the bed to kill all that bacteria. As a patient, too, I feel so much safer knowing the room I'm in was completely (disinfected) just a few hours before."
"We can decrease the rate of hospital-acquired infection. It's a big deal," Stork commented at the conclusion of TRU-D's segment.
"TRU-D is a simple option to help eliminate pathogens," says William Carroll Thompson, vice president of service, patient monitoring, Philips Healthcare. "As a company dedicated to simplifying healthcare, we are very pleased to bring this innovative solution to our customers and to their patients."
TRU-D is an automated room disinfection system that uses SmartUVC to accurately measure and deliver the lethal UV dose required to break apart the DNA of bacteria, virus and spores and render them harmless.
