Pocono Medical Center wins award for infection control study

EAST STROUDSBURG — Pocono Medical Center was awarded the William Rutala Research Award this past weekend at the Association of Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) 42nd Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN.

Accepting the award was Dr. Charles K. Herman, MD, Chief Medical Executive and Chair of Surgery at Pocono Medical Center. APIC is the nation's largest professional society dedicated to the field of infection control. The meeting was attended by more than 5,000 specialists in infection control from all regions of the world. The Rutala Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the field and is presented annually for the year's best research abstract.

Dr. Herman was primary investigator on the study entitled "Dilute Hydrogen Peroxide Technology for Reduction of Microbial Colonization in the Hospital Setting." Hospital-acquired infections are a worldwide problem, accounting for more than $30 billion in yearly costs to United States' hospitals alone and dangers to the health of patients and healthcare workers. The problem has become more concerning in recent years with the emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria. Through the use of a groundbreaking patented technology that generates a safe and dilute concentration of hydrogen peroxide from humidity and oxygen in the air itself and introduces the peroxide into the air without any aqueous solutions, continuous disinfection of the environment can be achieved. The study at Pocono Medical Center was the first in the nation to be conducted in a hospital.

The study was sponsored by Lee Antimicrobial Solutions of Armonk, N.Y., and Delafield Solutions of Huntsville, AL, the companies that manufacture and license the technology. Dr. Herman and Pocono Medical Center have looked to extend the study for an additional six months to investigate Dilute Hydrogen Peroxide's impact on hospital-acquired infections.