By Healthcare Facilities Today

The eerie glow coming from a window at West Chester Hospital in Cincinnati is infection control at work, according to an article on the WCPO Cincinnati website.

A matched pair of light machines, each around five feet tall, about 15 inches around, and 54 pounds mounted on industrial casters. clean the room.

Light from a certain portion of the UV spectrum disrupts DNA in bacteria and viruses so they can’t reproduce. The UV machines have sensors that measure and register how much UV light to discharge in a cleaning session. The machines also remember, through bar coding, when a room was last cleaned and for how long, and who ran the lights, the article said.

While the units operate, a monitor hangs from the outside door handle; if it moves, the units automatically shut down. The room can be used right after treatment.

Traditional bleach-based cleanings only go so far to sanitize against bacteria and viruses that cause these infections, since the germs can survive for hours--even days--on hard surfaces counters, phones or handrails, the article said

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about one of every 20 hospitalized patients picks up an infection at a healthcare facility each day. About 99,000 patients die every year from a healthcare-associated infection.

Read the article.