Infection Control Technologies Help Keep NJ Business Healthy

Now that the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to most of us in aging services, we need to consider what’s next. 

What more can be done as we need to stay vigilant on additional ways of reopening New Jersey businesses and safeguarding employees? I believe the latest technologies are the answer to elevate infection control to the highest level possible.

At Parker we have implemented many infection control technologies that will safeguard our homes and programs. 

From wearable devices that remind our employees to frequently wash their hands to UV technology that effectively helps us disinfect the highest standard, we believe these measures will better protect our residents, employees and visitors.  

In many cases these were technologies that we had planned before the pandemic came, but our efforts were accelerated as COVID-19 surfaced. We will continue to actively look for the best technologies for infection control. 

Even with hope on the horizon with the vaccines, it looks like we may be dealing with the impact of this pandemic for some time. Regardless of when this pandemic ends, our world is different and our business community needs to take measures that will put us on the offense, rather than the defense. 

We are pleased with our newly-installed system that electronically monitors hand hygiene. It is is being used as a high-tech way to bolster infection control at our residential campuses in Piscataway, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Franklin and Monroe.

Beacons strategically placed throughout clinical areas work in concert with small badges worn by each of Parker’s elder care workers. The beacons alert staff when there is a hand hygiene opportunity, with badges providing visual reminders to wash hands or apply hand sanitizer.

Whether they are diligently going about their daily duties from suite to suite, care partners are given a helpful reminder that hand hygiene is a crucial step toward halting the spread of germs, viruses and other unseen adversaries.

And in the midst of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, it’s another way of reducing the possibility of cross-contamination.

Every time care workers enter the room after a few seconds, if they don't do hand hygiene, the badge will start beeping. If they continue not to address their hands, it will turn red. And then every time they walk out of the room, it does the same thing. It works the same if our workers cross over the threshold in a shared room from bed A to bed B.

The electronic hand hygiene monitoring system, developed by Michigan-based BioVigil, was implemented in several hospitals since March 2020 when the first wave of COVID-19 hit much of the New York and New Jersey area. It was a way to remind busy workers eager to tend to their patients that they had to pause, wash their hands and then return to their duties. Hand washing – as well as mask wearing and social distancing – have been the trusted first lines of defense against the coronavirus.

Parker’s monitoring system offers quantitative data in the fight against cross-contamination because it provides data about which staff members haven’t been heeding the ever-present reminder to wash their hands and offers opportunities for coaching and education.

It didn’t take long for Parker’s elders to notice the badges. One elder even asked if she had permission to remind team members to wash their hands if she notices their badges turning red.

When we talk to families about the product, they’re very impressed. They’re so impressed by the fact that we're really taking this seriously, ensuring their loved ones are safe, as well as ourselves. That is our constant, pressing goal, now, and for the future.

Roberto Muñiz is president & CEO of Parker, with campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, Highland Park, Somerset and Monroe 

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