A Sunrise Senior Living Care Home, Eden Gardens, has reversed losses of £60,500 ($120k AUD) incurred by a high turnover in the number of residents following the installation of an air purification and oxidisation system from leading European manufacturer and installer Airius.
In a very kind and generous personal testimonial to Airius, the Executive Director of Eden Gardens assisted living communities stated that the company has “had tremendous results from using your system…I would recommend this system to every senior living facility and/or nursing home!”
In this article, we examine:
- the issues which led to Eden Garden looking for assistance
- why those issues were occurring and why Eden Garden was not alone
- how Airius air purification and oxidation systems overcame Eden Garden’s issue
- the application of Airius technology in the medical sector
- finding out more about Airius air purification and advanced oxidation systems
What Issues Were Eden Garden Trying To Solve?
Competition between care providers is fierce – there are 21,000 care homes in a market worth £15.9bn ($31.2bn AUD) each year. There is overcapacity in the sector – there are 67,000 more rooms than are required.
The cost of entry into the care home market is high. They are overseen by an active regulator – the Care Quality Commission – which publishes the results of its findings into each care home following their thorough inspections. According to the latest Government statistics, there are 12 care homes within a 3-mile radius in an average British postcode.
This is a buyer’s market with plenty of choices for families wanting to make sure that elderly and/or infirm relatives are housed in the greatest comfort and cared for by staff who respect them.
Prior to installing their Airius air purification and oxidation system, Eden Gardens was losing an average of three residents per month from their Alzheimer’s unit. When the families were asked why they no longer wanted their family members to stay there, they cited a persistent smell of urine and a higher than average infection rate for pneumonia.
Why Were These Issues Occurring?
The care staff at Eden Garden were and are superb – family members did not complain about the attitude of the staff or the way in which their relatives were treated. The senior management at Eden Gardens have, since the company’s foundation, been committed to providing market-leading care to residents with all conditions. Part of that was ongoing and thorough cleaning to the highest standards of all the indoor areas of their facilities.
The air with medical facilities is often recirculated – for good reason. Non-circulated air often leads to the appearance of hot and cold spots within a room. For a person with health issues, the discomfort we normally feel in a hot or cold spot indoors is greatly amplified for them. The feeling of being cold also compromises the body’s immune system meaning that care home residents are more at risk if there is not a comfortable and even temperature in the room or in the common areas of the building.
In addition to the good movement of air within a medical facility like a care home, the purity of the air is important. If unmanaged or managed badly, the air within indoor medical environments, like care homes or hospital wards, is full of pathogens. Pathogens, like volatile organic compounds, bacteria, and viruses, circulate in the air and they can survive for a long time because of the relatively warm environment. MRSA,
Norwalk virus, streptococcus, bird flu, swine flu, candida albicans, listeria, streptococcus pneumoniae, staphylococcus aureus, and bacillus globigii not only puts residents at risk through airborne transmission but they can also live on surfaces for a long time too.
The lack of clean, uncirculated air within premises will lead to the presence of mould – a major risk for residents with respiratory problems – and the presence of unpleasant odours (like the smell of urine previously within Eden Gardens).
How The Airius Air Purification And Oxidation System Overcame Those Issues
Airius’s approach to Eden Gardens was two-fold – clean the air and move it around more.
To clean the air, we used the Airius PHI system. There are two components within the PHI systems – the Photohydroionisation Cell and the air circulation and destratification unit.
The Photohydroionisation Cell oxidises the pathogens which exist in the air. Photohydroionisation causes the same destructive effect on pathogens that oxidation has on metal. Oxidation on metal causes it to rust and photohydroionisation causes the cells to break in pathogens to break down.
How effective is it? Oxidation reduces to a degree of 99.99% the mould, volatile organic compounds, bacteria, viruses, and odours within a confined space. Combined with regular thorough cleaning, oxidation also stops mould from growing and developing inside a building.
The air circulation and destratification unit recirculates the heated air within the Eden Gardens facility and directs it back down into columns to remove any hot or cold spots from within a resident’s room or the common areas.
What were the results of working with Airius?
- The groups’ revenue increased by £60,500 ($120k AUD) a year and profit margins “increased significantly”. From a place where they had a 100%+ resident turnover, there is now a waiting list equal to 25% of the group’s capacity.
- Pneumonia cases were reduced to zero and no deaths from communicable illnesses.
- Staff are taking fewer days off and their previous “call in” problem has been resolved. Staff not working in the Alzheimer’s unit want to work there now because “of the fresh smells and the lack of illness in the residents and staff”.
- The marketing team at Eden Gardens “finds it very easy to sell the property because it smells fresh and clean and…residents are healthy. Families comment on how fresh, clean, and free of odours the facility is”.
Find Out More About Airius And Our Work With The Medical Sector
Airius PHI kits are suitable for hospitals, dentists’ practices, care and nursing homes, medical and first aid facilities and doctors’ surgeries.
If you have any questions or queries about the Airius PureAir or PHI Cell, please Contact Us anytime by phone, on +61 (2) 6608 2736 or by email at [email protected].
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