Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1468749
32 Executive Briefi ng 3 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING A layered approach is a game-changer for enhanced disinfection A multi-strategy, layered approach to disinfection can drastically reduce the presence of organisms on hard, non-porous surfaces in health care settings because of the complementary routes to elimination it involves. For example, whereas chemical manual disinfection is commonly used throughout the day on surfaces such as terminals and nurse stations, UVC disinfection provides greater effectiveness on surfaces that may be difficult to clean by hand and also for terminal disinfection of rooms. Ms. Brewer explained that UVC cleaning technology in healthcare settings is not new but that its use in hospital rooms and operating rooms dates back only about 15 years and is still relatively novel. "Two years ago, we had to explain a lot what UVC did and why it was being used in healthcare. But since the pandemic, it's become much more commonly sought-after as a strategy for keeping surfaces clean." Ms. Hagberg traced further the evolution of the layered disinfection approach. "One of the more recently introduced innovations to the market is an EPA-registered disinfectant product that has continuously active disinfection (CAD). This product has a specific claim against SARS-CoV-2 within a one- minute contact time, as well as a continuous disinfection activity against specific bacteria* that cause the majority of healthcare- associated infections." CAD technologies not only support a layered approach to cleaning surfaces but also facilitate disinfection of the surrounding environment for 24 hours on surfaces to which it is applied. This is nowhere more relevant than in healthcare, where the environment can harbor organisms for days, weeks or even months. "There are lots of opportunities for contamination and recontamination of these environmental surfaces, so it's really difficult to disinfect surfaces as often as necessary," Ms. Hagberg said. "A continuously active disinfectant protects surfaces for 24 hours, effectively killing specific organisms* within five minutes of them contaminating surfaces. This type of technology certainly can lower the bioburden that's on those surfaces over a defined period." Practicality and partnerships are key to dissipating innovation skepticism One of the toughest challenges when it comes to implementing a new technology in healthcare is permeating the wall of skepticism that naturally surrounds innovation. For good reason, healthcare professionals are not easily susceptible to marketing claims, so often the first question that arises is whether a new solution lives up to its claims. To surmount that initial hurdle, scientific evidence in the form of EPA-registration information, vendor-performed or peer-reviewed scientific studies are crucial. Another, no less important challenge in healthcare settings, is proving that an innovation has been created with an understanding of how it fits into existing workflows, whether it requires any substantial changes to those workflows and how easy it would be for end users to adopt and adapt to it. In this context, ensuring education and training for proper product or technology use is also essential. Champions of layered disinfection can overcome staff acceptance by providing evidence of its effectiveness and workability, but the effort that goes into doing so is significant. That is where partnering with solution vendors — Tru-D SmartUVC and PDI, in this case — makes all the difference. "It is becoming increasingly important to use products that come with support in the form of process optimization, utilization data and industry expertise," Ms. Brewer said. "You don't want a company to just drop off a product and you never see [them] again. You really want somebody who's going to partner with you to achieve those disinfection goals because that's the best way to make sure that implementation is successful over the long term." Conclusion Multifactorial challenges require multifactorial solutions, and that is how the layered approach to disinfection works. "Most healthcare-associated infections are multifactorial and [addressing them] would benefit from a layered approach to disinfection," Ms. Hagberg said. The partnership between Tru-D SmartUVC and PDI brings an integrated solution to disinfection within reach of any healthcare organization. It offers both a diverse range of surface disinfectants along with the technology of UVC. The PDI/Tru-D SmartUVC team offers services to support the implementation of the layered strategy: field sales team members that walk customers through operationalizing the strategy in their organization, marketing and communications support, scientific experts and a responsive customer service team that ensures a successful post-sale customer journey. "Through the combination of all these, we assist customers with education, provide consultation and help with implementation," Ms. Hagberg said. "This is how we provide credibility to the product and services we offer and bring value to our customers." n *Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp. The Tru-D® device, part of PDI Healthcare's market-leading environment of care solutions, is an advanced UVC disinfection system that delivers one automated, measured dose of UVC to consistently disinfect a room from one position, ensuring significant microorganism inactivation, reducing human error in the disinfection process and documenting results for each cycle.