Jan 25 2013
THE DOCTORS, an Emmy Award winning, nationally syndicated talk show, discussed hospital cleanliness and a unique disinfection solution, TRU-D SmartUVC™ offered by Philips Healthcare.
Viewers who tuned into the January 14 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 Doctor 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% of infections are transmitted from contaminated surfaces to patients." According to Dr. 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," stated Stork. "Research shows that UV light can kill bugs; MRSA, C.diff, Acinetobactor 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 quickly added, "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..." Dr. Stork commented at the conclusion of Tru-D's featured TV premier on The Doctors.