Twin Cities Hospital unveils germ-zapping robot

Twin Cities Hospital and Fort Walton Beach Medical Center are the first to tap into a technology that uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light to quickly destroy bacteria, viruses, mold and other pathogens that can cause healthcare associated infections (HAI).

Twin Cities Hospital and Fort Walton Beach Medical Center have announced they are the first and only two hospitals in the Tri-County Area to use the Xenex LightStrike® Germ-Zapping Robot™ to enhance environmental cleanliness by disinfecting and destroying hard-to-kill germs, bacteria and superbugs in hard-to-clean places.

Twin Cities Hospital and Fort Walton Beach Medical Center are the first to tap into a technology that uses pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light to quickly destroy bacteria, viruses, mold and other pathogens that can cause healthcare associated infections (HAI).

“While both medical facilities are the only two hospitals in the area to receive an “A” rating for patient safety from the Leap Frog Group, we still wanted to make this capital investment to keep our hospitals equipped with the latest technology”, stated Mitch Mongell, CEO of Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.

Xenex Disinfection Services’ LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots have been proven to quickly destroy the germs and bacteria in ORs that can cause infections using pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light. Hundreds of hospitals use LightStrike robots to disinfect their ORs after the day’s procedures are complete and two hospitals have published peer-reviewed studies showing 46%-100% reductions in their SSI rates when the LightStrike robot was used to disinfect ORs after terminal cleaning.

The portable Xenex system can disinfect a typical procedure room in four- or five-minute cycles without warm-up or cool-down times. Operated by the hospital cleaning staff, it can be used in any department and in any unit within a healthcare facility, including isolation rooms, operating rooms, general patient care rooms, contact precaution areas, emergency rooms, bathrooms and public spaces.

“While our hospital infection rates are enviable, we always strive for zero.  Zero is the only infection rate acceptable to us.  So adding this new technology will make our patient care even safer than it is today”, stated David Whalen, CEO of Twin Cities Hospital.