Sunnybrook receives national award for adopting innovative disinfection technology

Case study shows significant improvements to operations and cost savings

Sunnybrook received an award recently for innovation in technology with its case study on the hospital's new highly automated washing and disinfection system.

The upgrade improved productivity and cleaning quality, decreased annual operating costs by almost $350,000, reduced water consumption by 7.7 million litres annually, decreased electricity consumption by 9.5 kW per cycle, reduced overall chemical use, improved worker safety and morale, and decreased overtime.

"This award represents national recognition from our peers on how the adoption of an innovative and effective use of a technology in a hospital setting can significantly improve operations while resulting in a significant cost-saving measure for the Canadian health care system," says lead author Abdool Z. Karim, Manager of the Regional Processing Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. "The award validates the time and effort we expend in moving reprocessing technology to the next level of innovation and the shifting paradigm of science."