On any given day, one in 25 hospital patients have at least one hospital-acquired infection (HAI), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Furthermore, there were an estimated 722,000 HAIs in U.S acute care hospitals in 2011 and about 75,000 hospital patients with HAIs died during their hospitalizations.

The Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, which penalizes hospitals for avoidable hospital-acquired conditions, reported in December that over 700 hospitals will have their total Medicare payments cut by 1 percent in fiscal year 2015.

It’s more important than ever to focus on developing a plan to lower HAI rates. The Connecticut-based company, Spectra254, has a range of UVC light decontamination systems that they claim is more than 99 percent effective at killing MRSA and C. difficile spores.

DOTmed News had the opportunity to speak with Sanford Green, senior executive at Spectra254, about the technology and what role decontamination systems like these will play in the future of infection control.

DOTmed New: How does the 1000 Series ultraviolet light system work?

Sanford Green: Ultraviolet light disinfection systems use ultraviolet C light in the spectrum between 200nm and 280nm. UVC light is germicidal — when a sufficient dosage of UVC light has touched a surface for a sufficient amount of time, it deactivates the DNA of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens and thus destroys their ability to multiply.

Disinfection times vary from system to system, depending on the system’s conversion efficiency, but cycle times can be as short as five minutes to disinfect an area as large as 400 square feet. The light is emitted in a 360 degree pattern in order to ensure complete coverage. In most cases, one room is disinfected at a time.

DOTmed News: Why should a hospital administrator consider purchasing this for their hospital?

SG: UVC light treatment is safe and effective. Because these systems are portable and easy-to-operate, there is an immediate impact on the hospital’s infection rates. The complement of terminal cleaning with UVC sanitation is the fastest way to lower infection rates.

UVC light has been independently tested for its effectiveness in killing the norovirus, salmonella, HIV, mold, MRSA, influenza, Ebola, Clostridium difficile, staph and many other viruses, bacteria, spores and super bugs.

C. diff spore elimination is often used as the benchmark for efficacy in testing, because C. diff spores are the hardest to kill because they can remain active outside the body for up to three months on surfaces. UVC light systems can be up to 99.9 percent effective in killing C. diff and other viruses and bacteria.

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