VANCOUVER -- A fleet of TV-star robots has joined the Fraser Health team to help combat COVID-19.
The 14 germicidal irradiation robots target germs that linger on surfaces by emitting short pulses of ultraviolet light, and made a recent cameo on a "Grey’s Anatomy" episode.
"(The robots) allow us to disinfect surfaces and high-touch points in patient rooms. We also use it outside patient rooms in support rooms such as medication rooms, utility rooms," said Fuad Ibramihov of Infection Prevention and Control at Fraser Health.
The fleet cost $2 million to purchase, and frontline workers voted to name one of them “Bonnie” and another “Henry,” in honour of B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Through their pulses of ultraviolet light, the Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping robots damage the DNA and RNA of harmful viruses and bacteria, including COVID-19, C. difficile, Candida auris and more.
“The robots light up a room as they disinfect, removing viruses and bacteria in as little as 20 minutes,” reads an announcement statement from Fraser Health.
The health authority already had two of these machines before purchasing its new fleet, and reports that since they were introduced in 2016, Fraser Health has seen a reduction in some hospital-acquired infections, such as C. difficile and MRSA.
But the previously lone pair were “working overtime during the COVID-19 pandemic to help keep patients safe by disinfecting rooms and units in acute and community settings where the virus is present,” said Fraser Health.
Now with a new fleet on deck, staff set the robots’ cleaning schedules, and the robots keep an electronic log of their work that they send to a closely-monitored centralized tracking system. Plus, housekeeping staff and health-care aides are continuing their traditional chemical cleaning methods.
“Environmental cleaning is an essential component of our multi-pronged approach to reducing hospital-acquired infections,” said Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, chief medical health officer at Fraser Health in a statement.
“We have made tremendous strides in recent years in enhancing our infection prevention and control practices. UVGI is another layer to keep our patients safe.”
