Mather Hospital now has a second ultraviolet-light system for disinfecting patient rooms with the introduction of the PurpleSun Space-1 unit. Mather is the latest Northwell Health facility to deploy PurpleSun to destroy harmful pathogens and reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections. The state-of-the-art PurpleSun devices, which traditionally had been used in operating rooms, will add an additional layer of safety to the hospital’s disinfection efforts during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Ultraviolet light technology will not replace manual cleaning and disinfection with chemicals, but it has a place in healthcare settings. This technology can optimize environmental cleanliness, resulting in decreased pathogens that could potentially cause infection,” said Donna Armellino, RN, DNP, vice president of infection prevention at Northwell Health. Armellino also noted that the PurpleSun technology provides enhanced disinfection of surfaces and equipment in the hospital and “has increased our confidence that the environment will not contribute to the development of an infection in patients, visitors, and healthcare workers.”

A study published in 2018 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.

“Mather Hospital’s Environmental Services team deploys this technology as part of its overall COVID-19 and hospital-acquired infection disinfectant protocol. It is utilized daily and will continue to be used post COVID-19 for other organisms and spores,” said Frank Christiano, Mather’ s Director of Environmental, Linen Services and Hazardous Materials.

Mather has been using another UV light disinfection system since November 2018 known as Tru-D to destroy spores, bacteria and fungus and to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Tru-D can disinfect an entire room up to 15 feet by 20 feet, including a bathroom within a patient room, from one position. The hospital has two Tru-D units.

Northwell Health’s for-profit subsidiary Northwell Holdings and Ventures invested in PurpleSun to continue to advance the technology and expand the application to other patient care areas. Mather is the first hospital in the system to use the newest version to disinfect patient rooms.

The system’s focused multi-vector ultraviolet technology surrounds equipment on all sides and disinfects in 90-second exposure intervals as one of several methods to make advancements in combatting hospital acquired infections.

“Originally, Northwell Ventures invested in PurpleSun as one of several methods to make advancements in combatting hospital-acquired infections,” explained Eric Feinstein, associate vice president of Northwell Ventures. “Now more than ever in the current COVID-19 environment, we are seeing additional stresses placed on our clinical and environmental service staff and Northwell is finding creative and progressive ways with our existing technologies, providing reassurance for patients that the care environment is continuously being disinfected with cutting-edge technology, as well as protecting the people providing that patient care.”