This past month Grinnell Regional Medical Center and
Grinnell College concluded a year and half long study looking into the
effectiveness of using copper alloy materials in a hospital setting. The study
was administered by Shannon Hinsa-Leasure, Ph.D., associate professor at
Grinnell College and a research team of undergraduate students.
“This study is the first to demonstrate that copper alloy
surfaces maintain reduced bacterial numbers in unoccupied and occupied patient
rooms,” Hinsa-Leasure said. “This is in contrast to control rooms, where
bacterial numbers rebound following terminal cleaning to levels comparable to
those found in occupied control rooms.”
For the research, half of the patient rooms at GRMC were
fitted with CuVerro copper alloys
and its germ-killing properties on high-touch surfaces. During the study, patient rooms were cleaned daily and subjected to a final, or terminal, cleaning upon patient discharge. High-touch areas were swabbed in occupied and unoccupied rooms and aerobic bacterial counts were determined for comparison purposes. GRMC’s size allowed it to be able to devote certain rooms that are rarely occupied to remain unoccupied for the length of study to act as a control.
and its germ-killing properties on high-touch surfaces. During the study, patient rooms were cleaned daily and subjected to a final, or terminal, cleaning upon patient discharge. High-touch areas were swabbed in occupied and unoccupied rooms and aerobic bacterial counts were determined for comparison purposes. GRMC’s size allowed it to be able to devote certain rooms that are rarely occupied to remain unoccupied for the length of study to act as a control.
GRMC’s move to copper surfaces was initiated in the name of
patient safety and reducing risks of healthcare-acquired infections. Studies
have found that pathogens can survive for days
to months on dry surfaces, making it difficult to maintain the current
suggested standard for surface-level cleanliness. However, since the research
found significantly fewer bacteria on copper alloy products, more rooms will be
outfitted with the same life-saving copper alloys to reduce risk of hospital
acquired infections.
Hinsa-Leasure explains that “This [study] is key to
protecting newly admitted patients from contracting infections through commonly
touched surfaces, even when they are considered clean, and is integral to an
effective infection-control strategy.”
Further details about the research can be found at www.grinnell.edu/academics/areas/biology/research/copper.
Written by Noah Segal, GRMC intern
