Unseen, Unsung and Now… Ultraviolet: CHLA’s Housekeeping Heroes Get Supergerm-Zapping Robot Helpers

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles introduces new high-tech disinfecting
robots; demonstration available during Housekeeping Week naming ceremony
on Sept. 16

Attention Media:


  • On Wednesday, 9/16, at 9:00am, media are invited to join us for
    the robots’ naming ceremony at CHLA’s main campus, talk with medical
    experts on the boost they provide to disinfection procedures and to
    view a demonstration of the robot in person. If interested,
    please RSVP with Owen Lei by Tuesday, 9/15, to request credentials.
  • Hospital-provided b-roll of Xenex robots in action available via Hightail
    download
    or on YouTube
    (For news media only: If used, please credit “Children’s Hospital Los
    Angeles”).

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Half a million square feet. More than 350 beds. And tomorrow, they clean
it all over again. Every day, Environmental Services (EVS) staff members
work to disinfect every surface in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,
playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preventing infections and
keeping patients safe. Now, on top of scrubbing, spraying, mopping and
wiping, they can add another action – zapping.

“Cleaning is a fundamental function of any healthcare facility, and our
housekeepers may go unnoticed because their work disinfecting the
hospital often happens before patients even get to their rooms,” says
Jill Hoffman, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and medical
director of infection prevention and control at Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles. “We arm our doctors and nurses with high-tech tools and
surgical robots, and now we are doing the same for those on the front
line of our battle against infections.”

As hospitals across the country look for new, innovative ways to battle
pathogens and multi-drug resistant organisms that put patients at risk,
and as flu season draws closer, CHLA has introduced four new non-human
team members that can annihilate potentially lethal germs and bacteria
lurking in hard-to-reach places.

CHLA’s four new Xenex Germ-Zapping Robots™ – affectionately named
Charlie, Ziggy, Phoenix and R2Clean2 – use pulsed xenon ultraviolet
(UV-C) light, thousands of times more powerful than sunlight, to quickly
destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and even bacterial spores. The
portable disinfection system takes about 20 minutes per room – for a
total of about an hour when combined with traditional cleaning
techniques – and is effective against even the most dangerous pathogens,
including Clostridium difficile (C-diff), norovirus, influenza and
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Supplementing the work of more than 200 top-notch EVS/housekeeping
staff, this new technology gives CHLA another tool to provide
hospitalized infants, children and young adults the safest experience
possible.

“Adding another layer of protection to our already robust infection
prevention protocols allows us to be even more proactive in protecting
our patients,” says Hoffman. “Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is
nationally and internationally recognized for patient care, and even one
hospital-acquired infection is one too many. These robots can help us
advance towards our goal of zero infections.”

In fact, during a brief trial run with a Xenex robot earlier this year,
CHLA was able to see a 10 percent reduction in infection rates in areas
of the hospital tested. Other hospitals that have used the robots for
longer periods have reported even more dramatic reductions – more than
50 percent in some cases – in C. diff and MRSA rates.

On Wednesday, 9/16, as part of National Environmental Services Week,
CHLA will honor its housekeepers with an appreciation breakfast, which
also will serve as the official naming ceremony for the new robots.
Members of the media are invited to join us for the ceremony, which will
take place at CHLA (4650 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027) in the
Stauffer Conference Room at 9:00am
. Dr. Hoffman, as well as members
of the EVS team, will be available for interviews at that time.
Demonstrations of the Xenex robot will be available for filming and
recording afterward. Hospital-provided b-roll of the robots in action is
also available via Hightail
download
or on YouTube.

If you are interested in covering this story, please contact Owen
Lei at
olei@chla.usc.edu
or 323-361-8433 by Tuesday, 9/15, to request the proper clearance.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s
hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation for clinical
excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World
Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research
Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research
facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of
America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932
with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern
California.

For more information, visit CHLA.org.
Follow us on TwitterFacebookYouTube and LinkedIn,
or visit our blog: WeTreatKidsBetter.org.

Contacts

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Owen Lei, 323-361-8433
olei@chla.usc.edu

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