The Dirty Truth About Hospital Sinks

There is a compelling number of scientific studies implicating poorly designed sinks in

the patient-care environment. These poorly designed sinks are part of an entire system

of outdated premise plumbing that is a superhighway for pathogens in a hospital.

Since the advent of indoor plumbing, the impact on health and sanitation has been

monumental, no doubt. However, since the discovery of the p-trap nearly 200 years

ago, very little has been done to build upon that original design.

Sinks, particularly the pipes that drain them, are ideal places for bacteria to proliferate.

The “bugs” form what are known as biofilms-colonies where they gang together and

attach to the surface of pipes below the sink drain.

Biofilm-The Unseen Threat

• 90% of harmful bacteria live in biofilm (according to the CDC and NIH)

• Viruses hide in Biofilm--Biofilms provide viruses a means to live without a host--

  These viruses can seriously impact human health

• Biofilm is a major challenge for cleaning--Biofilm “houses and protects

  pathogenic bacteria” such as MRSA, Salmonella, C-diff et al.

• Biofilm is a protective “Iron Man” shield that bacteria produce that make them

  highly resistant to disinfectants.

Getting rid of biofilms once they form is, well, pretty much impossible. There are

cleaning tricks hospitals try, but even those generally only lower the bacterial count for a

short period of time.

DON’T FEED THE BIOFILM

Aside from patient specimens being poured down sinks, as nurses take care of patients,

they have been known to empty IV bags down the sink drain as routine practice. Those

IV bags might contain nutrient-rich liquids such as tube-feeding leftovers.

When nutrients are added to the sewer system, the organisms rapidly grow up the

standpipe or tailpipe to the strainer at approximately an INCH per day. In a real-world

setting the movement of bacteria inside the tailpipe is restricted to brief wetting events in

which swimming is an opportunity to colonize new surfaces. It is assumed that once

established, the biofilm promotes the upward growth of E. coli in the tailpipe at an

accelerated rate. The nutrient regimen ultimately promotes colonization of items

commonly disposed of in hospital sinks (intravenous fluids, feeding supplement, and

leftover beverages).

EVS IS NOT THE PROBLEM

No matter how well the sink and drain cover is disinfected by Environmental Services,

just inches away lies the problem. The drain cover is the point at which the

concentration of target organisms sharply increased from almost undetectable above

the drain cover to ≥106 CFU/cm 2 in some samples below the drain cover.

This high concentration of potentially pathogenic and/or antibiotic-resistant

microorganisms in proximity to immune-compromised patients and healthcare

personnel reinforces the risk that sinks pose as reservoirs for healthcare-associated

pathogens.

INVESTIGATE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND FIXTURES

In OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards, there is a

hierarchy of controls to reduce risk of exposure to hospital staff. OSHA is more

concerned about the safety of employees and less about the patient’s safety.

ENGINEERING CONTROLS-As more and more hospitals become aware of the

potential for bacteria and “super bug” contamination from their plumbing systems, the

industry is responding by developing new fixtures and systems that reduce or eliminate

the potential of infection. These include implementing UVC lights, low-splash sink

designs, and exhaust in fixtures.

Existing drain disinfection chemistries and technologies are not effective at killing biofilm

bacteria in drains and they depend on employees to actually perform the service. Efforts

to disinfect drains have included complete replacement of the sink and its components,

installing self-cleaning traps, disinfection with processed steam, enhanced manual

cleaning, descaling of pipes, and disinfection with chlorine-based solutions or other

liquid disinfectants.

These efforts are short-term at best. Even when sinks or their drains are replaced or

existing drains are treated, the biofilm returns within days; the problem continues

unfazed. It’s time for a more effective approach to the problem of pathogens growing in

drain biofilm.

THE IMPACT OF CONTINUOUSLY ACTIVE DISINFECTION

The emerging compact UVC LEDS with rapidly increasing efficiencies have the

potential to alter the technology horizon of UVC disinfection. Such advancements

enable their incorporation in confined spaces to inhibit surface colonization on

inaccessible surfaces such as those in HOSPITAL SINKS.

Recent innovations in infection prevention and control include continuously active

disinfection that kills microbes and prevents the growth of harmful biofilms on surfaces

in real time. These discoveries are game changers in sink design.

THE ReSET265 SINK SOLVES THE PROBLEM WITH SINKS BEING THE SOURCE

OF DEADLY PATHOGENS

Now that you have a grasp of the issues surrounding sinks in hospitals, you need to

take the next step to discover the only patented complete solution that addresses the

splash zone and biofilm. The ReSet265 sink is ADA compliant and combines multiple

layers of smart technologies working in unison to become and Engineering Control

that separates the sewer from the care environment.

Let me challenge you to:

1. Do your own Infection Prevention Risk Assessment

2. Complete the CONTACT FORM for more information

3. Buy a sink, install it

4. Follow the SHS roadmap for your own 4-week study

If your in-house convinces the facility stakeholders that the ReSet265 sink will prevent

sinks from being the source of HAIs in your hospital, Tom Hicks will help you with a 2-3

year replacement program as you install ReSet265 sinks in your critical care units and

where your most vulnerable patients receive care (eg. Emergency Department,

Oncology Unit, Transplant Unit, Burn Unit, Scrub sinks in the OR, Sterile Processing

Decontamination Area, etc.).