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| Reducing HAIs through Uniforms: Because What You Can't See Can Kill You |
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| Written by Jackie Rosselli | |||
| Friday, 30 April 2010 10:01 | |||
 Remember when you were told that what you can't see won't hurt you? Well, turns out not to be true in all situations, especially if you're the patient of a doctor or nurse who hasn't washed his uniform in a while. We all know uniforms can bolster corporate image or protect workers in high risk occupations, but can they also endanger your life? Sadly, the answer is yes for hospital patients across the country. Healthcare workers habitually touch their own uniforms, as well as other items, increasing the risk that bacteria will be carried to the patient and cause infection. Worse, they frequently wear their uniforms off the job, jeopardizing the safety of the population at large. Even though the problem is well-documented, the risks for getting Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs), as they are known, steadily increased during recent decades. The Facts: Here in the United States, about 2 million patients each year become ill with an HAI, according to the Centers for Disease Control; 90,000 such cases are fatal. Beyond the human cost are financial considerations. Individuals who contract an HAI increase their hospital stays by 7-10 days, adding $30,000 in treatment costs per patient. In response, insurance companies have stopped reimbursing for HAI illnesses, deeming them preventable maladies. And come 2015, such medical missteps will have financial consequences for hospitals, thanks to President Obama's health care overhaul. According to the new law, Medicare payments to hospitals will be reduced for preventable readmissions and for certain infections that can usually be staved off with good nursing care. This has created a sense that something needs to be done, and hospitals have responded by stepping up policies to better protect workers, employees and their own bottom line. Better hygiene – increased hand washing and laundering – can prevent some HAI cases, and many hospitals have placed stricter guidelines on employees to stem the rate of infection. But good hygiene is only part of the answer. For a more comprehensive solution, hospitals are turning to healthcare apparel suppliers who manufacture uniforms that inhibit the growth of germs in the first place. Because no matter what you learned as a child, what you can't see can indeed hurt you. Silver Safe Lab Coat by White Swan  Of course, antimicrobial products have been a staple of the uniform industry for some time, but there are a number of newer products entering the healthcare apparel market. One such item is the Silver Safe Lab Coat, introduced in January by White Swan.Focusing on lab coats makes sense – they are perhaps the dirtiest of all health care apparel. "They're not laundered on a regular basis, so the potential for contamination is high," says Tom Inglis, vice president of business and new product development for White Swan. According to one survey, 65% of medical personnel confess they change their lab coat less than once a week, though they know it's contaminated. Fifteen percent admit they change it less than once a month. The Silver Safe Lab Coat seeks to address the dangers inherent in such practices. The coat contains a small amount – 2 percent – of X-Static®, a product developed by Noble Biomaterials, a leader in bacterial management solutions. Made with 99.9% pure silver, X-Static® enhances products with permanent anti-odor and antimicrobial performance, and provides other benefits such as temperature regulation and static reduction. Silver is well known for its antimicrobial properties, and is used in a wide variety of healthcare products ranging from bandages to burn care treatments to catheters—almost any product where infection control is critical. X-Static® can be used in knits, woven and non-woven fabric as either a filament or spun yarn. Basically, all of the inherent benefits of silver are made available in a new format - a textile fiber. The Silver Safe Lab Coat is backed by years of R&D according to Inglis. "We wanted a product that you could touch, feel and more importantly, see, but most of the technology out there didn't provide that," he explains. "X-Static® does, which is one reason we went with it." Another is permanence. Many manufacturers use finishes or treatments to achieve antimicrobial characteristics, but X-Static® is incorporated into the garment, meaning it will not wash or wear out, providing lifetime protection. Too many antimicrobials are undetectable to the naked eye, and that is where you lose most consumers, according to Inglis. "When they can not see a finish, how do they know they are protected?" Garments can be either home or industrial laundered too, but the use of chlorine bleach is prohibited. "Bleach encapsulates the silver, rendering it ineffective," he advises. The Silver Safe Lab Coat is a blend of 78/20 poly/cotton and 2 percent X-Static® silver twill. Learn more about the product by visiting www.whiteswanbrands.com. BioShield® Antimicrobial Scrubs, Landau Uniforms   From Landau comes BioShield®, a line of scrubs that protects garments from microbial contamination. Available in a wide variety of colors and styling options, they're also fashion forward, a major consideration in today's health apparel market. Scrubs are washed more frequently than lab coats but they present a different dilemma – they are worn everywhere. Stylish and comfortable, nurses wear them at the market, on the train and at restaurants, all with potentially deadly results, as they risk spreading bacteria to patients in hospitals and allowing hospital superbugs to escape into public places. Some hospitals have responded by prohibiting wearing scrubs outside the building. The vast majority, however, have not. Landau scrubs achieve their antimicrobial properties through Bioshield® 7200, an EPA registered antimicrobial fabric finish which prevents the growth of an array of bacteria, mold, mildew, algae and yeast. Independent testing laboratories have found Bioshield® effective against such bacteria as staphylococcus aureus, E coli, and various salmonella strains, and as an antimicrobial, it also inhibits the growth of odor, mold, mildew, fungi and algae. Bioshield® works by forming a positively charged polymer which chemically bonds to the fabric and acts like a bed of microscopic spikes, piercing the cell walls of microbes which may touch scrubs and other healthcare garments. Because it is a mechanical process, it does not contain toxins, and does not create the potential for treatment-resistant superbugs. Landau tests each lot of its antimicrobial fabric to ensure proper adherence and concentration of Bioshield®, and sends random samples of finished garments to an independent testing lab to verify efficacy. All scrubs are wash and wear, colorfast, and require no special care or laundering. To view the complete line or to learn more, visit www.landau.com.
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| Last Updated on Friday, 30 April 2010 10:20 |
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