Published: October 06, 2011
Sealed Air Introduces Breakthrough Service Offering to Enhance Hand Hygiene Compliance for Health Professionals
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Sealed Air Corporation ("Sealed Air" ) (NYSE:SEE), today introduced VSS
Vision Safety Solutions , a breakthrough service offering that enables
health care facilities to improve hand hygiene compliance among health
professionals. The VSS service increases hygiene and safety in
hospitals through its innovative technology that visually detects,
records, and notifies of improper or insufficient hand washing and
sanitizing events.
William V. Hickey, Sealed Air Chief Executive Officer stated, "VSS
Vision Safety Solutions is the first joint offering from Sealed Air and
Diversey, which is now part of Sealed Air following the completion of
the acquisition on October 3, 2011. It leverages Sealed Air technology
and Diversey's expertise in cleaning and hygiene and its access to major
health care providers. The VSS system also offers Diversey
brand hand hygiene products."
Currently available only in the United States, VSS is one of the most
advanced hand hygiene systems in the health care market. It offers
health care providers a cost effective way and a potential new tool in
the fight to reduce the number of healthcare-associated infections
(HAIs) by increasing compliance with hand hygiene. According to the U.
S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year
approximately 100,000 people in the United States die from an illness
acquired during a stay at a health care facility. The CDC also states
that HAIs cost the health care industry more than $30 billion annually.
VSS Vision Safety Solutions is currently in trial at several health
care facilities in the United States, including the University of
Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview and Indiana University Health. These
institutions are using the VSS service offering to detect and record:
-
when hand hygiene occurs;
-
the duration of each hand washing event; and
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confirmation that each individual uses soap and/or sanitizer.
"VSS enables us to have hand washing data down to the individual worker
level," said Dr. Douglas Webb, Medical Director of Infection Prevention
at Indiana University Health. "This information was not available to us
before. As a result, we can ensure our health care providers are in full
compliance and correct any deficiencies in their practices."
Added Russ Williams, Vice President of Professional Services, University
of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, "VSS delivers data that we can
then use to change behaviors and take our organization to the next level
of excellence."
"Providing employees with actionable information on a regular basis
helps health care facilities improve their hand hygiene compliance rate
which ultimately results in improved patient care," said Carolyn Cooke,
Vice President, Diversey Americas Health Care Sales. "VSS Vision Safety
Solutions is uniquely capable of providing an assessment of hand
washing techniques, including water and soap use and the length of time
spent washing."
How VSS Works
The VSS technology, powered by Sealed Air's patent pending VTID Vision
Tracking and Identification system, is a computer vision technology
consisting of RFID sensors and software programs that utilize complex
algorithms to process and analyze the imagery. The system detects
non-compliant imagery and can transmit alerts that can be accessed by
hospital staff members only. In addition to monitoring for compliance,
the data can be used for training.
Each health care worker wears an ID badge with an RFID tag that detects
when they approach a sink or sanitizing station. A small digital
detection device that is strategically positioned monitors each hand
washing event. An additional detection device then records if soap or
sanitizer is used and how long the hand washing event takes place.
For prospective customers seeking further information, visit our website
at www.visionsafetysolutions.com
or contact Grayson Martin at (925) 389-1081.
Business
Sealed Air is the new global leader in food safety and security,
facility hygiene and product protection. With widely recognized and
inventive brands such as Bubble Wrap brand cushioning,
Cryovac brand food packaging solutions and Diversey®
brand cleaning and hygiene solutions, Sealed Air offers efficient and
sustainable solutions that create business value for customers, enhance
the quality of life for consumers and provide a cleaner and healthier
environment for future generations. On a pro forma basis, Sealed Air
generated revenue of $7.6 billion in 2010 and has approximately 26,000
employees who serve customers in 175 countries. To learn more, visit www.sealedair.com.

Sealed Air Corporation
For Investors:
Amanda Butler,
201-703-4210
Director, Investor Relations
amanda.butler@sealedair.com
or
For
Media:
Ken Aurichio, 201-703-4164
Director, Corporate
Communications
ken.aurichio@sealedair.com
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