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Hip With the Times - July 2017 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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(osmag.net/RmfG7U) may further enhance the technology's ability to battle multidrug-resistant organisms. We're considering this option as we build a new ICU tower. The technology is also evolving into smaller and more portable devices. UV wands are already being used in foodservice and other industries, but it's inevitable that these kinds of devices will make their way into health care as a way to treat high-touch items like room curtains, which are among the biggest carriers of pathogens. Feeling justified Every time we have a patient readmitted with an HAI, it's on us, mean- ing it adds tens of thousands of unreimbursed dollars to the cost of care. It's also tying up the hospital, and we'd much rather have a new patient than a repeat patient who has been readmitted because of an infection. Each UV disinfection unit costs more than $100,000, but we justified the expense by preparing a pro forma to show our C-suite the savings we would experience by reducing HAIs by 30% per year. Based on our 2016 numbers, cutting HAIs by one-third should save more than $500,000 this year and more than $1.1 million in 2018. It's a sizeable investment, but we anticipate a return in less than 4 months. I haven't seen a tool with this kind of game-changing poten- tial in my 35 years in this field, as it addresses all the prongs that are important to every healthcare facility: reducing HAIs, curbing read- missions, driving patient satisfaction and making the hospital safer for everyone who walks through your door. It also gives us an assurance we've never had before, and it's tough to put a price on that. OSM J U L Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 7 Mr. Barnes (trbarnes@stcharleshealthcare.org) is the director of hospitality services for St. Charles Bend (Ore.) Medical Center.

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