Hospitals and healthcare facilities are focused on the highest standards of cleaning and disinfecting, as it is key to maintaining good health especially for those patients who are health compromised.  Over the past ten years, significant advancements in the ongoing battle against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been made. Walk into any hospital or healthcare center and you will see stands with hand sanitizers, reminders to wash hands in bathrooms, and doctors and nurses wearing masks, gowns and face shields. The onset of COVID-19 and the ensuing pandemic has taken the mitigation of germs and viruses to a whole new level.

Today, as cases continue to rise and thousands of deaths are recorded daily, hospitals and healthcare offices are giving even greater importance to cleaning and prevention, as it has become imperative to ensure that the virus will not be brought into the facility, not spread within the hospital, nor carried from an infectious disease environment and brought home by hospital workers to their family members.  Therefore, solutions that offer comprehensive disinfection from the entry point to exit are being searched for and implemented.

The first step to implementing a successful and comprehensive disinfection solution is to conduct thorough due diligence to ensure that the systems being considered to offer effective disinfection methods.  Some approaches are more effective than others, and it is essential that the sense of security people have in entering a healthcare facility is well understood.

Nick Jaksa, former auto executive and founder of Integrated Operations whose brand Viral Defense distributes disinfection systems, believes that solutions, including one that utilizes colloidal silver among others,  offer natural anti-viral, anti-bacterial and non-corrosive protection.  By using an ultra-fine misting technology, surfaces have complete disinfection and are effective in the elimination of deadly viruses and bacteria.

Jaksa and his team of medical experts have developed a breakthrough Viral Defense misting technology that is being utilized in walk-through misting booths for full-body disinfection, and portable units that allow for very effective disinfection on surfaces, including rooms and hallways making them free of bacteria and viruses, quickly and easily.  An important additional benefit of the Viral Defense systems is the speed at which the process happens. Depending upon the size of the space, a complete disinfection cycle takes 15-30 seconds with no residual wetness.  Management sees significant benefits to the bottom line as well due to application time saved, less labor required, and the lower cost of the solution itself.

Fast, easy, and effective practices ensure success.  Integrated Operations’ Viral Defense systems utilize a fine mist of nano-particles, which allow the mist to disperse and cover an entire area and all surfaces.  The use of a fine mist is key because it provides much more comprehensive coverage than traditional sprays and is much faster acting than UVC light.  The fine mist has the ability to cover more surface area, while sprays and light are only effective on areas that are directly touched and exposed to the disinfectant. Special care must be taken with salt-based disinfectants, which are very common, but also corrosive, and thus should be used with care.  This is especially true when being used close to electronics, including medical and dental equipment in treatment rooms, and with computers in offices. In the case of UVC light-based devices, the direct exposure to the light and the excessive time required for the light to have an effect provides significant reduction ineffectiveness.

Jaksa explains the phenomena by comparing fog to rain, where the fog is equivalent to the Viral Defense misting technology, and rain acts as a traditional spray. Both carry moisture, but only the fog (mist) will reach and surround all places because the particles are minute.  The larger raindrop-size particles which are similar to conventional sprays cannot surround all of the surfaces due to their size and weight. The smaller the particles in the fog or mist, the more effective it will be dispersed and reach all surfaces before gravity pulls it down.

One of the disinfectant solutions offered uses colloidal silver which not only deactivates viruses and kills bacteria but also provides 24-hours of protection after application.  “The most comprehensive disinfection ensures that we are not carrying germs on our person nor transporting them on our things and that they are not present in the environments we enter as they may be present in the air. Combined with mask-wearing and hand washing, it’s a highly effective means of protection against bacteria and deadly viruses,” says Jaksa.

It is not just coronavirus that has become a threat.  Many countries have dealt with the deadly SARS virus and Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Listeria, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri and Klebsiella pneumonia which are constant threats to patients’ and staffs’ wellbeing.  Infection control specialists who focus on hospitals and healthcare centres need to know how to successfully design and implement an effective disinfection program.  That means using new equipment and technologies that are proven to be effective, are comprehensive in their ability to prevent the transmission of disease, work quickly, and remain within budgets.