St. Tammany Health System’s robotic arsenal just keeps on turning heads.
Medical distributor Medline’s nationally distributed magazine, Threads, recently featured a two-page spread on the health system’s germ-zapping Lytbot robots, which were purchased with help from the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation at the start of the COVID pandemic last spring.
Find a reprint of the article below. You can also access a digital version of this month’s issue of Threads on the Medline website, where you can also sign up for a free subscription.
Pathogen-fighting robots clean up at Louisiana health system
From Threads, a publication of Medline
In a galaxy not so far away, a futuristic duo traverses the corridors of St. Tammany Health System (STHS) in Covington, Louisiana, ready to battle enemy pathogens with bursts of xenon pulsed ultraviolet C (UVC) light. Nicknamed "The Twins," these Solaris Lytbots are new team members in the healthcare system's fight against specific pathogens, including SARSCoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.
"Our dedicated environmental services employees are our frontline defense for our patients, staff and guests," says David Synakiewicz, CHESP, T-CSCT, T-CHEST, director of environmental services at STHS.
"When COVID-19 first appeared in our community, we knew our cleaning procedures were meeting all CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] requirements, but we wanted to provide an added security level to offer an environment where everyone felt safe."
Though hospital administrators had been researching UVC technology for some time, the pandemic created an urgent demand. Fortunately, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation had recently completed a two-year, $300,000 fund raising initiative aimed at adding healthcare technology, including the Lytbots, in conjunction with the health system's $100 million Expansion 2020 project.
"With the outbreak of COVID-19, our leadership was happy to authorize the donated funds ahead of schedule to on board these essential resources and enhance the safety, care and comfort of both our patients and caregivers," says Nicole Suhre, CFRE, who serves as the foundation's executive director. "The purchase of 'The Twins' represents a significant investment in the health and wellbeing of the Northshore [Louisiana] community by our generous supporters."
How Lytbots work
Roughly the size of a roadside construction barrel, each Lytbot glides into position to deliver bursts of disinfecting energy in either three- or five-minute cycles, depending on room size.
"We utilize the robots in various locations throughout the hospital, including public restrooms, offices, boardrooms, cafeteria spaces, surgical suites, waiting rooms and patient rooms," says Synakiewicz. "Solaris is setting a new standard in our industry. While similar products temporarily disable pathogens, the Lytbots break down the outer shell of microorganisms· to render them permanently inactive."
Comprehensive Solaris training modules gave the St. Tammany team confidence to deploy the robots, utilizing them before and after traditional cleaning takes place in high-risk spaces. Prior to conducting a manual discharge cleaning of an isolation room, an environmental staff member stations the Lytbot at the foot of the bed and remotely sets the program to run a five-minute pulsing cycle. This helps to significantly reduce harmful pathogen levels before staff members employ best practices techniques and chemicals to further prepare an environment for the next patient.
After the initial cleaning cycle finishes, the Lytbot remains stationary in the space for the idle time recommended by CDC. Then it is disinfected and retreats from the room. After a thorough manual cleaning of the room, the Lytbot reenters and is activated in three separate locations around the room. As the powerful light strobes, the unit rotates 360 degrees to provide complete coverage of the patient space and bathroom. Between cycles, mattresses are turned and compartments opened so that all high-touch surfaces are treated.
"The Lytbot process adds time to our throughput, but we believe the extra protection is well worth the safety it brings to our colleagues and patients," says Synakiewicz. Encouraging results from in-house surface swab testing provide measurable proof that "The Twins" are getting the job done.
Missions accomplished
The onslaught of COVID-19 cases has further ignited demand to control the spread of infectious pathogens, promising job security for "The Twins" long after the current pandemic subsides.
"We know that healthcare associated infections throughout the United States take a significant toll on patient wellbeing and resource allocation," says Melissa Hodgson, ABC, APR, assistant vice president of communications at STHS. "The Solaris Lytbots give our hardworking environmental services team an innovative tool in their ongoing effort to keep our St. Tammany Parish community healthy and safe."
Now that the two Lytbots have completed many successful missions. plans are in the works to add to their ranks. Suhre notes that forecasted expenditures include the purchase of two additional Lytbots before the opening of the health system's state-of-the-art expanded facilities, scheduled for year's end.