As healthcare facilities look for new and innovative ways to battle viruses and bacteria that can pose a risk to employee and patient safety, Winner Regional Health has taken a leap into the future with a LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot that quickly destroys microscopic pathogens in hard-to-clean places. The hospital is the first healthcare facility in Southern South Dakota to deploy LightStrike robots from Xenex, a world leader in room disinfection technology.

The LightStrike robot is proven to deactivate Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, on surfaces in two minutes.

With the world’s focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19 and recognizing that superbugs are becoming increasingly resistant to cleaning chemicals, antibiotics and even some hand sanitizers, hospitals are turning to new technology to enhance their cleaning protocols. Microorganisms that can cause infections, such as Clostridium difficile (C. diff), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), often lurk on high-touch surfaces in healthcare facilities.