New Jersey and other states across the country are placing greater restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather indoors as cases of COVID-19 surge across the nation. While airborne particles have been identified as the primary means by which the SARS-CoV-2 virus and other respiratory pathogens are spread from person to person, contaminated surfaces also play a role in the spread of the disease. A study performed at hospitals in Taiwan & Thailand during the SARS outbreak in 2003 concluded that clustering of cases in healthcare workers could best be explained by taking into account contamination of environmental surfaces in high traffic areas. Even when businesses and healthcare facilities adopt CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfection, it can be challenging to keep surfaces free from germs at all times.
So what can essential businesses and hospitals do to keep employees, customers and patients safe in challenging times? The Germ Buster System has a solution. The Ocean Township-based environmental health company applies an antimicrobial technology to high touch surfaces after thoroughly disinfecting the area. The “protectant” adheres to all surfaces creating a barrier that acts like a microscopic bed of nails to puncture the cell walls of microbes that come into contact with it. Co-owner and environmental health nurse, Gina Dehmer says the protection lasts up to 30 days, even with routine cleaning. United Airlines recently announced that it was adding the same antimicrobial technology to its rigorous safety protocol. On the ground, Greg Hussey of Evolution Martial Arts in Toms River says that the protectant gives staff and customers peace of mind that their facility remains safe between monthly treatments.
Dehmer founded the Germ Buster System in 2019 with Gary Szymanski, a certified mold inspector & expert remediator. They were originally concerned about keeping indoor environments safe for their clients with immune system disorders and chemical sensitivities. All products used are research-proven, EPA registered as non-toxic and water-based so are safe for food-contact surfaces. These criteria were a welcome relief to Valerie Frost-Lewis, owner of Peppermint Tree Child Development Center in Toms River, who was ambivalent about reopening earlier this year. “As we welcomed back children in July, the Germ Buster System’s products and professional service gave us extra confidence that we were doing all we could to provide a safe environment.”
“The hospital-grade disinfectant we use kills 99.999% of pathogens. But we still test after every treatment to ensure it was effective. Germs can easily adhere to plastic and get stuck in crevices,” says Dehmer. Thanks to the nurse’s diligence, none of the facilities that receive Germ Buster System treatment on a monthly basis have reported a COVID-19 outbreak.
While Dehmer and Szymanski prefer to serve the community on the side of prevention, they are able to respond to emergency calls within 24 hours of notification. During the national lockdown in March, the most anyone could do was react to the crisis at hand. Germ Buster System treated all seven locations of Immediate Care Urgent Care in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. With much uncertainty and limited understanding of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, healthcare administrators had to proceed with the best practices available.
Until an effective vaccine is widely available, innovative environmental health strategies are one of the ways that essential businesses and facility managers are helping slow the spread of COVID-19.
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