Studies have found that healthcare facilities are infested with bacteria such as Staph, MRSA, E. coli, and VRE, and that one in 25 patients are infected by one of these bacteria during their hospital stay. One paint company claims it has a solution.
According to CNN Money, Sherwin-Williams wants to “paint a cleaner picture of hospitals.” The company says its new product “Paint Shield” can kill over 99.9 percent of the aforementioned bacteria after they’ve been on a painted surface for two hours.
The product announcement came at the right time – Dr. L. Clifford McDonald of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN Money that eliminating healthcare-associated infections is "a top priority" as they are "very serious threats to patient safety."
Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC says that healthcare-associated infections cost U.S. hospitals somewhere between $28 billion and $45 billion annually in direct medical costs.