Cone Health Lowers Infection Rates With Innovative Infection Prevention Program Including Use of Xenex Room Disinfection Systems

Cone Health Lowers Infection Rates With Innovative Infection Prevention Program Including Use of Xenex Room Disinfection Systems

Cone HealthDoug Allred, APR, 336-832-8659External Communications ManagerorMedia RelationsXenex Healthcare ServicesMelinda Hart, 210-824-3433

will announce at that it reduced Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates by a dramatic 56 percent in 2011 after implementing an infection prevention program that includes . IDWeek 2012 is the first-ever joint meeting of four leading infectious disease organizations.

MRSA rates at Cone Health decreased from 0.37/1000 patient days in 2010 to 0.17/1000 patient days in 2011. Working with key partners, including Xenex Healthcare Services, Cone Health successfully integrated clinical and non-clinical best practices to achieve rapid improvements in the prevention of HAIs. HAIs caused by such as MRSA, and are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

“We are excited and encouraged by the HAI reductions we achieved in 2011, but even one infection is too many,” said Dr. Mary Jo Cagle, Chief Quality Officer, Cone Health. “We experienced a 56 percent reduction in MRSA in our patient rooms and intensive care units (ICUs) using a number of strategies, including the use of Xenex devices. In fact, we have expanded our use of Xenex devices into our operating rooms (ORs) and emergency departments (EDs). Our goal is simple – zero hospital-acquired infections.”

Cone Health is the first hospital in North Carolina to implement Xenex’s automated room disinfection system, which uses pulsed Xenon ultraviolet light to destroy viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores without contact or chemicals. Uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, the Xenex device can be operated by a hospital’s cleaning staff without disrupting hospital operations or requiring the use of expensive chemicals. The Xenex system can disinfect dozens of rooms per day, so Cone Health uses the system continuously to reduce contamination levels in patient rooms, ORs and ICUs.

“The Xenex system is the fastest and most cost-effective room disinfection technology on the market today,” said Dr. Mark Stibich, Chief Scientific Officer at Xenex. “What makes our device so different is that we use pulsed xenon ultraviolet light, which is 25,000 times more intense than other UV technologies. Our pulsed xenon system disinfects rooms in minutes and can disinfect more rooms every day than any other system available. We have data, papers and case studies for our protocols, but the best news is that the Xenex device has been shown to reduce HAIs facilitywide – and reducing HAIs is the most important thing to our customers.”

Cone Health’s Environmental Services department is managed by Sodexo, one of the world’s leading healthcare environmental service providers. Sodexo as its preferred partner for the disinfection of Sodexo client facilities.

is committed to being a national leader in quality, service and cost. The Network for Exceptional Care consists of The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, Wesley Long Hospital, Women’s Hospital, Annie Penn Hospital, Cone Health Behavioral Health Hospital, , , and various outpatient clinics and programs. More than 8,600 exceptional people provide exceptional care to the people of Guilford, Rockingham, Forsyth, Randolph and Alamance counties of North Carolina.

Xenex develops pulsed xenon UV room disinfection systems for the advanced cleaning of the patient environment in healthcare facilities. The Xenex system is the fastest, safest, most cost-effective and easy-to-use system available today among room disinfection technologies. The Xenex mission is to significantly reduce the number of HAIs that impact the health and lives of millions of patients and their families and become the new standard method for disinfection in healthcare facilities worldwide. For more information, visit .

is the first joint meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS). With the theme “Advancing Science, Improving Care,” IDWeek will feature the latest science and bench-to-bedside approaches in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including HIV, across the lifespan. IDWeek 2012 takes place Oct. 17-21 at the San Diego Convention Center. For more information, visit .