Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, TX is a tertiary care, regional referral center offering complex and comprehensive medical and surgical care for children. Their location near the Gulf of Mexico makes high humidity a frequent issue in the burden levels of bacteria and fungus within the hospital.

Under the leadership of Nancy Fallwell, RN, MSN, MHA, Director of Infection Prevention, Driscoll faced the issue by launching a comprehensive internal investigation of sourcing and air sampling. The study sought to determine the impact of an active air treatment system with a UV-C irradiation chamber on neutralizing airborne microorganisms. 

Manufactured exclusively by American Green Technology®, the patented VidaShield™ Continuous UV-C Air Purification System is an "active, always on" system designed to reduce the amount of infectious bacteria and fungi present in the air at room level. Unlike most UV-C technologies, which work at peak efficiency when microorganisms are in the line of sight, VidaShield draws the room air into an irradiation chamber, continuously, returning treated air back into the room. 

The study resulted in a 73% decrease in total airborne bacteria count and 44% reduction in airborne fungal counts. "The results from the study physically and financially supported our integrating of VidaShield into our HAI prevention protocol. The continual scrubbing of the air provides a safer and cleaner environment for our patients, staff, and visitors," said Fallwell.

Environmental Disinfection Management, LLC led the development of the study by providing environmental expertise and onsite application design and implementation. "The results of the Driscoll Children's study continues to confirm that the use of UV-C at room level has a consistently positive effect on reducing airborne bacteria and fungus in treated air," said Jay Comeaux, President of Environmental Disinfection Management.

For more information, visit  www.VidaShield.com.