Ultraviolet light used to disinfect at Beauregard Health System hospital

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) -We protect ourselves from the sun because the ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer, cataracts and premature aging of the skin.

But certain ultraviolet rays can destroy germs - including the coronavirus.

At the Beauregard Health System hospital in DeRidder they have purchased a new system that uses a certain wavelength of ultraviolet light to disinfect hospital rooms.

The lamp, rolled from room to room, emits a strobing light that disinfects everything it touches, including coronavirus according to distributors. Courtney and Will Deitch of moss bluff.

“What makes this Puro light so special is the UVC spectrum that it puts out and that is what kills the virus, coronavirus,” said Will.

Courtney says like a light in a table lamp, they are effective until they go out:

“You know they’re working the full life of the fixture, so when they go out that’s when they quit working,” said Courtney.

Though ultraviolet light, especially high doses, can be harmful to humans, the device is set up to disinfect for 30 minutes and automatically shuts off if its motion detector indicates someone is there.

Webb Lawrence is one of the founders of Puro UV disinfection lighting.

“We don’t want anyone present in the space while the unit is disinfecting the room which is why we have an occupancy sensor built into every one of our units that will shut the unit down should anybody enter the space,” said Lawrence.

The technology can be used in various commercial settings from hospitals to childcare facilities.

Mike Mersfelder is director of environmental services at Beauregard Health System.

“We use it in our COVID-19 rooms as well as our discharge rooms, and our ER and our operating room as well. It is a process where we clean the room and afterward, we put the light in there and let it do its thing and then remove it and take it to another place.”

The manufacturer says testing confirms the UV lights are effective against SARS, influenza, Ebola and coronaviruses.

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