PRODUCTS & SERVICES PDI’s Brewer accentuated the positive in terms of performance


and procedural expansion to keep pace with the migration of patient care. “Throughout the pandemic, public-facing organizations of all


kinds—including food, retail and commercial establishments, as well as schools, nursing homes and government-run ser- vices—reinforced their cleaning and disinfection practices,” she assured. “This trend was especially pronounced in hospitals and throughout healthcare, where spaces and surfaces are being cleaned more thoroughly than ever before. “The experience of the pandemic also spurred interest in enhanced cleaning technologies in other parts of healthcare, such as doctors’ offices, clinics and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs),” Brewer continued. “More people are having surgery in an outpatient setting, and the same concerns exist surround- ing the cleanliness of the environment. Therefore, ASCs are becoming more interested in applying the technology in those spaces to make sure that their operating rooms are clean and there are no microorganisms left behind.” Others recall the ensuing market tension wrought by COVID- 19’s vigorous transmission rate.


Hospital Safety Solutions acquired a major product during


the summer of 2019, predating the pandemic’s debut by about six months. The timing offered little relief, according to Willard. “We were hit pretty hard for devices and ended up renting the demo units we had on hand,” he recalled. Since then, he remains mixed. “Demand is increasing, but it seems old habits of using cloth and cleaner die hard, even with some of the cleaning solvents requiring special disposal compared to a light that has no residual effect,” he indicated. “Additionally, using UV light minimizes the margin of error inherent in cloth and cleaner application.”


Excelitas’ Clements remembers the mad dash to provide and acquire products.


“There is no question that some early products were rushed to


market,” he told Healthcare Purchasing News. “Understandably, there was a strong acute-stress-response and a need to take any action to help mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. However, many early products were underpowered, ineffective or aimed at responding to the wrong mode of transmission (e.g., sur- face spread). Nevertheless, equipment providers that focused their product development on mitigating the true mode of pathogen transmission—aerosol transmission of infectious disease through small particles suspended in the air—were able to generate a robust, effective and safe family of UVC disinfection tools.”


UVDI’s Steely highlighted what healthcare providers needed on short notice.


“Prior to the pandemic, the primary need for healthcare professionals was the assurance a UV room disinfection device was truly effective,” she said. “Today, many healthcare sys- tems are still recovering financially and doing so, with smaller workforces and resources.” But Clements knows what must be done to prepare for what may be coming next. “We should seize the opportunity to use what we have


learned, the product improvements we have achieved and the changing standards, which can be met efficiently and econom- ically with UVC technology,” he insisted. “At a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that currently 1 in 31 hospital patients has developed at least one [healthcare-associated infection] (HAI), and when some


46 October 2023 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS • hpnonline.com


pathogens are spreading very rapidly (e.g., C. auris began spreading in the U.S. in 2015, and revealed a 318% increase by 2018), UVC technologies provide another, very effective tool in the infection-control toolbox.”


For American Ultraviolet’s Guzman, the COVID-19 pan- demic has been something like a marathon sprint that took a serious toll.


“We saw a bit of a slowdown once the new case numbers started to drop,” he observed. “We are still ahead of our pre-pandemic numbers, but things definitely cooled off a bit. In my opinion I think this was just a result of exhaustion. Our healthcare workers, [environmental services] staff, [infection preventionists] and purchasing managers were not only physi- cally exhausted from long days, staff shortages and tremendous stress, they were being inundated with various ‘solutions’ everyday all day—wipes, electrostatic sprayers, antimicrobial surfaces and surface treatments, UV robots, handheld UV devices, fixed mounted UV packages and new chemistries/ cleaning agents to replace the ones they were using that were out of stock. Sorting through the options and sorting through the good versus bad must have been incredibly stressful and all of this under the directive to get a solution as quickly as possible.” Customers may be frustrated, Finsen’s Donahue lamented. “Providers seem weary and rightly so,” he said. “Many cus- tomers I have spoken to wave me off before I can even start to detail our differentiating features. There is so much social media that features devices with terrible designs or others that produce ozone, or others that contribute to cross contamination between rooms. Customers must dig deeper, and we as a sales industry need to push education more. From 2020 to current, we are still being blocked from even visiting customers in person and emails are blocked from their IT departments due to ransomware.” The federal government’s downgrade of the pandemic to endemic status shouldn’t shift healthcare organization priorities from combatting respiratory viruses or any other infectious microbes, sources contend.


“UV was well accepted to help reduce the spread of serious harmful pathogens that cause HAIs years prior to the 2020 pan- demic,” declared Steriliz’s Baiocchi. “These harmful pathogens are not going away just because the government is declaring the demise of the COVID pandemic. In fact, new strains emerge constantly that require a bundled approach of various inter- ventions—including UV to help reduce the spread.” Xenex’s Miller agreed. “The healthcare community under- stands that COVID-19 isn’t over,” he said. “In fact, many cities are seeing an increase in cases this summer. The hospitals that invested in enhanced disinfection protocols before and during the pandemic utilize their LightStrike UV robots as part of an effective disinfection strategy to battle the pathogens we know about today—and the ones we’ll face tomorrow.” Baiocchi recognized additional hurdles that complicate what healthcare organizations face. “The post-pandemic environment has changed compared to


the beginning of the 2020 pandemic,” he said. “For example, there are workforce challenges that still remain, such as FTEs short-staffed, continued cost cutting measures and higher oper- ating expenses. The attitude remains the same, where everyone agrees that using additional interventions, such as UV disinfec- tion to create safer environments, is still a top priority. However, the lack of funding for capital equipment purchases continues to remain the No. 1 issue for acquiring more UV devices.”


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