In the very near future, many in the healthcare, jansan, education, restaurant, and food service industries are going to hear a lot more about a system that exists for one simple reason: to protect our health.
That system: automated hand hygiene equipment developed and manufactured by Meritech® Inc.
Meritech is a division of Resurgent Health and Medical, based in Golden, CO. The company engineers, manufactures, and distributes the CleanTech ELF™ Automated Hand Washing and Monitoring System, which helps prevent cross contamination and the spread of disease due to the lack of, or improper hand washing.
Each year it is estimated that more than 75 million people are affected by food-borne illnesses, nearly half of these cases are due to poor hand hygiene. What’s more, studies show that hand washing compliance in healthcare and food service industries, specifically, are still far from meeting target levels deemed necessary by federal health and safety regulations.
In most cases the reasons for this are three fold.
• Convenience. Hand washing facilities are not installed in convenient areas for the workers to use them.
• Time. People simply do not spend enough time washing their hands at work, at home, or at school properly. Hands should be washed, using soaps and solutions for up to 30 seconds at approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Thoroughness. Even when hands are washed properly, pathogens may remain under fingernails, in between fingers, or are recontaminated as soon as faucet and paper dispenser handles are touched.
The Meritech system addresses all these issues by manufacturing compact, as well as free standing and installed, automated hand hygiene systems. The products use patented cylinders that release a high pressure, low volume water spray, along with a specially-developed hand cleaning solution.
Together, the systems remove more than 99 percent of the microorganisms on hands, including the bacteria and germs associated with E. coli, Hepatitis A, Salmonella, Listeria, and other health-threatening pathogens. And it’d done in 12 seconds or less.
Using the system is easy. Hands are inserted into two rotating cylinders that deliver a fully-automated cycle of hand washing, sanitizing, and rinsing – including under the fingernails.
The company’s CEO is Jim Glenn. Jim has advocated the need for improved hand hygiene for years, is a frequent writer and speaker on the subject, and has been interviewed on scores of television and radio programs. |
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