To improve patient safety, Northwell now using UV technology at Northern Westchester, Staten Island University hospitals to disinfect ORs

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y., Sept. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwell Health hospitals are now using a patented form of ultraviolet technology to reduce pathogens in the environment that present the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

This new light-based technology, developed by PurpleSun, has been rolled out at two Northwell hospitals – Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco and Staten Island University Hospital’s (SIUH) north campus – to enhance disinfection in operating rooms (ORs) and the equipment within them.

This modular system can be deployed almost anywhere in a hospital, but the first applications and protocols were developed for ORs -- Northern Westchester acquired two of the devices and SIUH is using one. Northwell is the world’s first health system to deploy PurpleSun’s focused multivector ultraviolet (FMUV) technology.

A study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) showed that PurpleSun’s patented, wavelength delivery system eliminated up to 97.7 percent of pathogens in a live OR setting. A second AJIC study published earlier this summer also showed that integrating PurpleSun technology as a parallel process does not increase cleaning and disinfection time.

The FMUV technology surrounds equipment on all sides and disinfects in 90-second exposure intervals – the fastest in the industry. The unit’s modular design also allows for compact folding and easy storage.

“While UV technology will not replace the manual cleaning and disinfection process, PurpleSun’s platform all but eliminates pathogens in ORs that could potentially contribute to the development of infection,” said Donna Armellino, RN, DNP, vice president of infection prevention at Northwell Health.

OR staff, environmental services and infection prevention personnel at Northern Westchester and SIUH were trained on the use of the technology in August, and the devices are already being used in 11 ORs at Northern Westchester, and 10 ORs and one cystoscopy room at Staten Island.

Northwell Health’s for-profit subsidiary, Northwell Holdings and Ventures, has invested in PurpleSun to continue to advance the technology and expand the application to other patient care areas.

About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, about 750 outpatient facilities and more than 13,600 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 70,000 employees – 16,000-plus nurses and 4,000 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – who are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Northwell Health