FHN, a non-profit organisation, is utilising Xenex Healthcare Services' Xenex robot to disinfect patient rooms, operating rooms and other areas.
Requiring only 5-10 minutes to disinfect a room, the Xenex system is considered to be the fastest, safest, and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of micro-organisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAI).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HAIs, which are caused by deadly pathogens such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile (C. diff), pneumonia and Acinetobacter, are the fourth-leading cause of death in the US.
Using xenon technology, the Xenex room disinfection robot delivers high-intensity, broad-spectrum ultraviolet light to quickly kill micro-organisms on surfaces and in the air without contact or chemicals.
The UV light penetrates the cell walls of microorganisms and fuses their DNA, which leads to instant damage and the inability to reproduce or mutate, and ultimately the organism gets killed.
FHN president and CEO Michael Perry said that the Xenex system has been proven to be 20 times more effective at killing pathogens than standard chemical cleaning.
"We are proud to bring this new technology to our hospital to enhance the safety of our patients," Perry added.