ASC Spartanburg Is First Surgery Center In South Carolina To Install Bacteria Fighting Operating Room Lights

Indigo-Clean™ light fixtures help keep patients safe in the outpatient surgery center

Spartanburg, South Carolina and Kenosha, Wisconsin
July 26, 2017

SPARTANBURG, S.C. and KENOSHA, Wis. - Ambulatory Surgery Center of Spartanburg is the first free-standing surgery center in South Carolina to use Indigo-Clean™ continuous environmental disinfecting operating room (OR) light fixtures to help reduce the risk of surgical site infections.

In March 2017, ASC Spartanburg installed Indigo-Clean disinfecting operating room lights in two operating rooms, boosting ASC Spartanburg’s efforts in infection prevention best practices.

“Maintaining a safe and clean environment for our patients is our top priority,” said Mike Pankey, Administrator, ASC Spartanburg. “We wanted a disinfectant technology that would be effective, efficient and easy to use which is exactly what Indigo-Clean is. Compared to other disinfecting technology on the market, Indigo-Clean was the most cost effective and efficient since there was no room downtime, and because it’s automatic, it alleviates the concern of training and human-error.”

During the course of a day, Pankey noted other disinfecting technology would leave the OR room down up to two hours, and for a busy OR, that’s a lot of time and lost revenue. “We can’t afford to have a room down especially in our busiest operating rooms,” said Pankey. “Indigo-Clean safely and continuously cleans the environment during and after surgical procedures, which makes it a great addition to our current cleaning protocols.”

Indigo-Clean fixtures use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to generate visible white light that also contains a narrow spectrum of indigo colored light. This indigo color uses a wavelength of 405 nanometers (nm) to automatically, safely and continuously disinfect the air, as well as hard and soft surfaces. The 405nm light is absorbed by molecules within bacteria, producing a chemical reaction that kills the bacteria from the inside as if common household bleach has been released within the bacterial cells. When the OR is not in use, the lights can be switched to an Indigo-only mode, providing a higher degree of safe disinfection.

Indigo-Clean bolsters current disinfecting efforts to reduce harmful bacteria in the environment. Recent hospital research studies have proven significant antimicrobial kill rates of more than 70 percent, including proven efficacy in killing MRSA* and C-diff**.

“We conducted ATP testing on a variety of surfaces for a period of 30 days using a commercially available system to independently verify Indigo-Clean’s efficacy,” Pankey stated. “Our results show a reduction consistent with their disinfection claim, and we’re excited to provide a cleaner, safer environment for our patients.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1 in every 25 U.S. hospital patients contracts an infection in a health care setting. This amounts to approximately 1.7 million infections each year with approximately 99,000 of those infections ending in the patient’s death. Battling a Healthcare Acquired Infection (HAI) or Surgical Site Infection (SSI) can often add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of treating a single patient.

Although there is no one perfect solution to preventing HAIs or SSIs, Indigo-Clean disinfectant lights, used in combination with thorough cleaning processes, is a good step in keeping patients safe by preventing infections before they even start.

*Maclean M., S.J. MacGregor, J.G. Anderson, G.A. Woolsey, J.E. Coia, K. Hamilton, I. Taggart, S.B. Watson, B. Thakker & G. Gettinby (2010). Environmental Decontamination of a Hospital Isolation Room using High‐Intensity Narrow‐Spectrum Light. Journal of Hospital Infection, 76(3); 247‐251. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2010.07.010
**Antimicrobial Activity of a Continuous Visible Light Disinfection System by Rutala, et. al, ID Week 2016.

About Kenall, manufacturer of Indigo-Clean™
Indigo-Clean™ is an affiliate of Kenall Manufacturing, which has earned a reputation for lighting challenging applications. Since its inception in 1963, Kenall has been known for superior quality, exceptional value, and durable solutions, and it is proud to provide sealed lighting for containment or clean spaces, security lighting for detention facilities, and specialized healthcare and transportation applications. The vast majority of Kenall products comply with the Buy American Act: manufactured in the United States with more than 50% of the component cost of US origin. For additional information on Indigo-Clean™, visit our website at legrand.us/indigo-clean or contact us directly at 262-891-9200.

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Media Contact:
Michele McCawley
Phone: (262) 891-9744
E-mail: mmccawley@kenall.com