Seeking a new, industry-wide approach to help prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), Crothall Healthcare will host its inaugural Infection Prevention Powerhouse Summit December 7-8 at its corporate headquarters in Wayne, Pa.

The two-day event will feature presentations by Crothall executives and several companies that provide products and innovative solutions that help mitigate the risk of HAIs.  Crothall, which provides patient room cleaning and other environmental services to approximately 400 hospitals and several hundred more related to other support and food service functions, already works with many hospitals to reduce HAIs. But the summit aims to intensify the industry’s efforts by gathering and analyzing additional data from its participants, then testing and validating the data with the help of hospitals nationwide.

“The summit’s purpose is to seek a holistic solution in the prevention of HAIs,” said Rich Feczko, Crothall’s national director of systems, standards, innovation and global support. “Each supplier has expertise about specific products used in this fight. By collecting and analyzing data from key suppliers, and combining it with our own data, we can provide hospitals with a set of solutions for specific issues, as well as the overall prevention of HAIs.”

In addition to Crothall, here is a list of companies with their areas of expertise that will participate in the summit:

• Diversey, quaternary disinfectant and hydrogen peroxide solution lines;

• Surfacide, UV-C technology;

• Hygiena, ATP surface measurements solutions;

• Clorox, bleach-based solutions;

• GOJO, hand hygiene soap and sanitizer solutions;

• Supreme Industrial, EPA-registered non-bleach based sporicidal solution.

In addition, consultant Handwashingforlife Institute will make a presentation on approaches and best practices on hand hygiene.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on any given day, about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection. To engage hospitals in its approach, Feczko plans to enlist at least 30 hospitals to help test and validate solutions derived from the data.

He believes some will want to study a specific issue, such as the impact of disinfectants, while others will take a more comprehensive approach. “We plan to approach a wide variety of hospitals across the country that will want to see the data and help us optimize our efforts to reduce HAIs,” Feczko said.

Once all data and testing is complete, Crothall plans to publish a white paper and other materials with key results by fall 2017.

For more information, go to www.crothall.com.