Countertops With Countertops With Copper: A Healthy Trend?
NORFOLK, Va. – As patient fears of hospital infections and superbugs continue to rise, one hospital in Norfolk, Va. is taking a unique approach to battling these issues: copper.
The secret ingredient is a copper technology developed by Richmond, Va.-based Cupron, a biotechnology company that has found ways to isolate copper so that it can be stabilized and imbedded in a variety of materials to take advantage of its natural antimicrobial properties.
Cupron partnered with EOS Surfaces in Norfolk, Va., to develop Antimicrobial Cupron Enhanced EOS Surfaces, which have been approved by the EPA for their ability to kill greater than 99.9% of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria within two hours of exposure. It is the only copper-infused antimicrobial surface with this EPA-approved public health claim.
In Norfolk, Sentara Healthcare will open a new 129-bed patient tower at its Sentara Leigh Hospital site, where the patient rooms and most clinical spaces have been outfitted with antimicrobial copper-infused surfaces, including countertops, over-the-bed tables and bed rails. (In early 2014, Sentara will add antimicrobial copper-infused textiles, ranging from bed linens to patients gowns.)
The use of the copper-infused surfaces and textiles will be part of an evaluation to determine whether they decrease the development of infections, along with the need for antibiotics prescribed as a result of hospital-acquired infections. It will be the world’s largest-known study to date of durable, biologically active antimicrobial surfaces, which is expected to begin early next year.
“Sentara is pleased to become the first large-scale deployment of these advanced antimicrobial materials,” said Dr. Gene Burke, vice president of Clinical Effectiveness for Sentara. “Over the years, Sentara has implemented many advanced practices in an effort to minimize hospital-acquired infections at our facilities and we believe that new technologies, such as the copper-infused materials, have the potential to create another layer of protection in this very important effort.”
In the United States, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) account for nearly 1.7 million infections and 100,000 deaths each year. A 2009 Center for Disease Control study estimates the annual direct costs of HAIs between $35.7 billion and $45 billion.
“After spending two years developing Antimicrobial Cupron Enhanced EOS Surfaces and most of the past 18 months expanding our manufacturing capabilities, the opening of Sentara’s Leigh East Tower and the launch of the world’s largest study of antimicrobial materials is a pivotal moment for EOS Surfaces,” said Ken Trinder, CEO of EOS Surfaces. “We expect the study to validate what our EPA registration and testing has already affirmed: that Cupron Enhanced EOS Surfaces can play a significant role in hospitals’ efforts to reduce HAIs.”
“HAIs are a complex problem that will require new technologies and healthcare products working together to continue the journey to zero-infection environments,” said Paul Rocheleau, chairman of Cupron. “But what our Cupron-enhanced materials do is provide hospitals with another layer of protection that is constantly working in the background, to complement their existing infection control practices. We look forward to ‘Cupronizing’ more hospitals in the future like we’ve done with Sentara.”
The use of Antimicrobial Cupron Enhanced EOS Surfaces is a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection control practices; users must continue to follow all current infection control practices, including those practices related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces. Antimicrobial Cupron Enhanced EOS Surfaces have been shown to reduce microbial contamination but they do not necessarily prevent cross contamination.
