The nursing home population has been hit hard since mid-March.

Most have been deemed "hot spots" as thousands of patients have died since the start of the pandemic.

Many are now reviewing new practices to increase safety.

"In this day in age, infection control practices, we want to make sure they're top notch. We want to make sure if we go above and beyond to keep our residents and staff safe, we're going to do so," said Kathy Swezey, Good Shepherd Fairview executive director.

Good Shepherd Communities in Broome County is taking action.

The company purchased three $20,000 "LytBots" for their facilities in Binghamton, Endwell and New Berlin.

"This gives reassurance to our families, it gives reassurance to the public, and it shows that nursing homes are doing their part to alleviate any of the virus in their facilities," said Swezey.

The LytBots are brought into a room before a new patient comes in.

Following the typical deep-cleaning, they then use powerful UV rays to kill any harmful pathogens that may be left behind.

"We usually open up drawers and stuff like that because any surface that this light touches will be disinfected. We push the unit in, turn it on, activate it from outside the door, and the remote control takes over from there," said Jim Dooley, the Good Shepherd Fairview director of facilities maintenance.

The machine is so powerful that no one can be in the room when it's working.

As for how quickly it can disinfect a space, "after the five minute cycle, the room is ready to go," said Dooley.

The "Lytbots" are capable of cleaning everything from a small room to a shared living space.