Gulf Coast Health Care has installed the nation’s first Rensair portable air scrubbers inside its Florida and Mississippi facilities.

Rensair’s patented system of UV light and HEPA13 filter technology has been shown to destroy 99.97% of airborne pathogens, including the virus responsible for COVID-19. The system is already used widely in the U.K and Scandinavia.

Health Care Navigator, a New York-based healthcare consultant, helped Gulf Coast Health Care identify and evaluate the most effective air purification solution as the operator prepared to resume indoor family visitations.

Most current systems in the United States typically trap and hold pathogens in filter material, which requires specially outfitted technicians to change filters and service units. Rensair catches the airborne virus and bacteria in HEPA13 filters and bombards the filters with UVC lights, which destroy the virus and bacteria at the DNA/RNA level. The filter requires a single annual change. 

“Our patients and their loved ones are eager to resume visitation, and adding the Rensair units to our common spaces, rehab/exercise rooms and visiting areas increases the effectiveness of our ongoing infection management procedures,” said Brett Barnett, president of Gulf Coast Health Care. “Our goal of adding comfort and peace of mind for our patients, staff and visitors demands going the extra mile to prepare for visitors from the outside community.”

Recent scientific research from Brown and Harvard Universities finds that community spread outside the nursing home causes higher infection rates inside the nursing home, so the resumption of visitations isn’t without risks. 

“We went looking for a quality product that could deliver on its promise of cleaner air, portability and cost-effectiveness, and we found it in Europe with Rensair,” Barnett said. “After completing our benchmark testing and satisfied with our findings, we ordered and installed units at all of our centers.”