How to Ensure Positive Patient Outcomes

Achieving positive patient outcomes is among the top priorities today for hospitals in the United States. Ensuring high quality care of patients by avoiding mistakes and negative events while in the hospital is of the utmost importance. Infections that occur in patients while they are receiving healthcare are called healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). HAIs can cause serious illness and are a threat to patient safety. There are many measures taken by hospital administration, nurses, doctors, and other employees to control HAI. However, during long hospital stays, particularly related to chronic diseases treatment, the possibilities of acquiring HAI are high. Steam plays a vital role in helping to ensure positive patient outcomes in hospitals. This article explores a variety of hospital applications that use steam including domestic hot water and heating, sterilization, and humidification.

Domestic Hot Water and Heating

Hospitals rely on water to maintain hygiene and a comfortable environment for patients and staff, and for treatment and diagnostic purposes. Interruptions in the hot water supply can disrupt healthcare activities and create safety hazards for patients. Previously, the design of systems required sufficient reserve water storage to be available to minimize disruption, while at the same time ensuring an adequate turnover of water to prevent stagnation in storage vessels and distribution systems. Spirax Sarco offers the Spirax EasiHeat for domestic hot water and heating needs. The EasiHeat DHW is a complete, compact and energy efficient heat transfer solution, that will deliver a constant supply of hot water at a stable temperature on demand - even with sudden and wide load changes – for a full range of domestic and process hot water applications.  EasiHeat for Heating is also available and is a complete, compact, and ready-to-use steam to water heat transfer package that delivers superior energy efficient performance. For standard closed heating circuit applications, EasiHeat for Heating can help you lower costs, tackle waste, mitigate your environmental impact and make a positive change towards carbon reduction.

Sterilization

Sterilizing reusable surgical instruments and devices using steam is a common practice in hospitals. The world health organization states “the preferred method for sterilization of heat-resistant critical devices is steam/moist heat sterilization (pre-vacuum sterilization is preferred)”. CDC guidelines state that if surgical instruments are heat resistant, the recommended sterilization process is steam sterilization, because it has the largest margin of safety due to its reliability, consistency, and lethality. Ensuring that the sterilization process is efficient and working properly is vital to positive patient outcomes. Hospital Sterile Services and Decontamination units provide an important defense against disease-causing bacteria which can flourish in air and water. Poor sterilization process and poor steam quality can lead to wet packs which happens when moisture is present in or on a package of surgical instruments after steam sterilization or cooling procedures are completed. Contaminated surgical instruments are a safety hazard to patients and costly for hospitals. Where vital services like steam sterilization are concerned, Spirax Sarco offers clean steam generators that deliver the ideal quality steam to accurately complete the sterilization process, ensuring positive patient outcomes.

Humidification

Proper humidification in a hospital is vital in achieving positive patient outcomes. Poor humidification in the hospital environment dictates the ability of viruses, bacteria, and fungal spores to not only survive but to thrive, as well. Headaches, sore throats, nasal stuffiness, skin issues and HAI can be caused by poor humidity levels. Maintaining a humidification level in most areas of a hospital between 40 to 60% will help to prevent HAI, decrease the spread of viruses and infection rates, and help to save patient lives. To help hospitals achieve the appropriate humidification levels throughout their facilities, Spirax Sarco offers clean steam generators that will help ensure positive patient outcomes.

Spirax Sarco can help you ensure the safety of your hospital patients and achieve positive patient outcomes. We help customers in the hospital industry maximize the efficiency of their steam system, from the boiler house through steam distribution to the condensate return system. We offer innovative solutions to help the healthcare sector lower its energy consumption, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate contamination risk. Ensuring that each system is designed and built to match your specific healthcare needs is a core advantage of partnering with Spirax Sarco. Get in touch with your local Spirax Sarco steam expert to learn more.