by Brianna Crandall — March 16, 2015—Vestagen Technical Textiles just announced that the American Hospital Association (AHA) has awarded its exclusive endorsement to Vestex Active Barrier protective healthcare apparel. The endorsement is based on an extensive due diligence process that assessed Vestex’s ability to protect healthcare workers and reduce the bacteria on clothing that contribute to the risk of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in patients and hospital staff. Reducing HAIs is an important goal of the AHA, public health agencies, hospital payers, and AHA member institutions, notes Vestagen. AHA’s exclusive endorsements are for solutions that each stand out for their ability to surmount a particular operational challenge faced by hospitals and care systems.
“AHA’s data-driven endorsement is a powerful validation of Vestex’s ability to help protect healthcare workers, patients and the public by reducing potentially dangerous bacteria and contamination on clothing,” said Uncas “Ben” B. Favret III, president and CEO of Vestagen. “This endorsement provides confirmation to our distributors, partners and rapidly growing customer base that the protective qualities engineered into Vestex fabrics will perform as promised in real-life hospital settings. We view AHA’s endorsement as especially impactful due to their expertise, prestige and demanding, highly analytical due diligence assessments. Many companies are now rushing healthcare apparel to market claiming protective properties, but Vestex is the only one to have passed muster in a rigorous review process.”
Healthcare workers are at daily risk of exposure to dangerous pathogens and other contaminants, and they can unknowingly spread these contaminants to patients, other workers, family members and the public. Vestex garments are made from a new class of active barrier protective fabrics that are clinically proven to prevent or reduce the acquisition and retention of microbes and other contaminants. Vestex is engineered to have robust body fluid repellency and embedded antimicrobial properties, along with the enhanced breathability, exceptional durability, styling flexibility and affordability needed for everyday use.
Contaminated clothing is a known carrier of bacteria, and healthcare workers have the highest rate of illness of any occupation in the United States, points out Vestagen. Contamination with difficult-to-treat organisms such as MRSA and C. difficile puts workers at risk and is responsible for many of the most serious hospital-acquired infections. A peer-reviewed published study confirmed that Vestex-protected nurse scrub uniforms (which utilized Vestex’s unique combination of a fluorine/silicon oxide body fluid repellent and an organosilicon quaternary ammonium antimicrobial) demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in MRSA of more than 99.99% compared to the non-protective scrub uniforms used in many hospitals today, according to the company.
“A new report from the Centers for Disease Control highlights the important gains hospitals have made in reducing the incidence of HAIs, but it also notes more action is needed,” said Anthony Burke, senior vice president of the AHA, and president and CEO of AHA Solutions, Inc. “Our endorsement of Vestex Active Barrier protective apparel is therefore especially timely. Worker clothing is widely recognized as a source of potential disease transmission in healthcare settings, and Vestex is the only protective apparel that has demonstrated the ability to reduce the spread of dangerous organisms in peer-reviewed clinical studies. Vestagen also makes it easy for healthcare workers to adopt its protective uniforms, by producing garments that are comfortable, durable, attractive and affordable. We look forward to supporting the company as it brings the benefits of its protective Vestex apparel to our member institutions nationwide.”
