Feb 28 2015
Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center (EMRMC) is taking a leading role among Kentucky hospitals with the purchase of a germ-zapping robot. The Xenex robot is capable of moving throughout the hospital destroying highly contagious germs such as MRSA, C.diff, and even the Ebola virus. This investment in patient safety and care has been funded through the generosity of the Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation.
Recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the 100 Great Community Hospitals in America, the use of the Xenex robot at EMRMC reinforces its commitment to patient safety and quality care. No other public hospital in the commonwealth uses such sophisticated medical technology to ensure the patients, staff and visitors have reduced exposure to dangerous bacteria that cause infections requiring expensive and lengthy hospital care. Through the use of high-intensity pulsed xenon ultraviolet light, the Xenex germ-zapping robot quickly destroys the DNA of these contagions.
The Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation has funded nearly $1.8 million in health care needs in just the past three years. This current donation to the medical center further demonstrates to those who charitably support the growth of health care services through the Foundation that critical needs are being funded. 100 percent of every donation goes to the funding of health care needs.
Uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, the hospital’s environmental services staff can operate the Xenex robot without disrupting hospital operations. With a five-minute disinfection cycle, the robot can disinfect dozens of hospital rooms per day, including patient rooms, operating rooms, equipment rooms, emergency rooms, intensive care units and public areas. More than 250 hospitals, Veterans Affairs and DoD facilities in the U.S. are using Xenex robots, which are also in use in skilled nursing facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and long-term acute care facilities. Numerous hospitals have reported a decrease in healthcare associated infection (HAI) rates after they began using the Xenex robot for room disinfection.