FREEPORT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FHN is the first healthcare entity in northern Illinois to utilize a Xenex robot to disinfect patient rooms, operating rooms and other areas. Requiring only 5-10 minutes to disinfect a room, the Xenex system is the fastest, safest, and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAI).
HAIs, which are caused by deadly pathogens such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), pneumonia and Acinetobacter, are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Xenex room disinfection robot uses pulsed xenon technology to deliver high-intensity, broad-spectrum ultraviolet light to quickly kill microorganisms on surfaces and in the air without contact or chemicals. The UV light penetrates the cell walls of microorganisms, essentially fusing their DNA, leading to instant damage, the inability to reproduce or mutate, and killing the organism.
FHN’s Environmental Services team operates the Xenex robot, uniquely designed for ease of use and portability, without disturbing patients or hospital operations.
“The Xenex system has been proven to be 20 times more effective at killing pathogens than standard chemical cleaning,” said FHN President and CEO Michael Perry, MD. “We are proud to bring this new technology to our hospital to enhance the safety of our patients.”
About Xenex Healthcare Services:
Xenex's patented pulse xenon UV room disinfection system is a pesticidal device used for the advanced environmental cleaning of healthcare facilities. The Xenex system has been repeatedly shown to integrate smoothly into hospital cleaning operations because of its speed and ease of use. The Xenex mission is to eliminate bacteria, viruses and spores in the patient environment that can cause hospital acquired infections and to become the new standard method for disinfection in healthcare facilities worldwide. For more information, visit www.xenex.com.
About FHN:
FHN, a not-for-profit organization with nearly 1,400 employees, is an award-winning regional healthcare system committed to the health and well-being of the people of northwest Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Named one of the top three hospitals in Illinois for safety by the world’s largest independent, non-profit product- and service-testing organization and among the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® for 2007 by Thomson Healthcare, FHN has also been honored by VHA with a Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence in its treatment of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) in 2008, and a Leadership Award for Clinical Excellence for its treatment of cardiac patients in 2006. Organized in 1995 as an integrated healthcare delivery system, FHN is comprised of FHN Memorial Hospital, the Leonard C. Ferguson Cancer Center, 13 family healthcare centers offering primary and specialty medical care, Hospice, occupational and chiropractic health services, dental care and outpatient mental health services. An average of 1,500 people come to FHN daily for their healthcare needs. For more information about FHN, please visit www.fhn.org.
