SAYRE, Pa. -- Meet Han Solo. There are three of these germ-zapping robots disinfecting hospital rooms at Robert Packer Hospital after the traditional cleaning process is complete. Officials at Guthrie say it's their latest initiative to eliminate multidrug-resistant organisms and lower the risk of infection.
"While you do do an excellent job at your disinfecting process, one of the things that [is] out there as far as innovation is really using the robot with this pulsating, rotating high-intensity UV light that further decreases the risk of transmission of those organisms," explained Barbara Pennypacker, hospital VP of surgical services.
In 2014, hospital officials say the risk of infection following surgery was less than 1 in 600 patients, which is below the national average. They say the robots are a proactive investment for the hospital. The devices cost about $85,000 each, but that is much less than the cost of the alternative.
"If you have a patient that gets a surgical site infection, it can run you up to over $100,000,” said Pennypacker. “So certainly, purchasing the robots can have a big impact on your patient care, your length of stay, but most importantly, the quality of life our patients have."
While germ-zapping robots are not new to cleaning hospitals, these new ones work quicker and can be used in operating rooms.
"You put the robot in there for about 15-20 minutes," Pennypacker said, "and while that's occurring, then what it's really doing is killing all organisms that are in that space, where before it took 45 minutes [and] you really could not utilize that as much in the operating room."
The robots are currently used to disinfect the intensive care unit and patient care areas as well.
A few years ago, Robert Packer Hospital initially invested in an older version of the robot. They say that robot is still used to clean patient discharge areas, but the new models are more thorough.