Start-up's Technology Purifies Air at St. Luke's Allentown Hospital

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Aug. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A passion for pure air links St. Luke's University Health Network with local entrepreneur Kathryn Worrilow, PhD, in a win-win partnership that benefits patients, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. It began in 2017 when Dr. Worrilow's company, LifeAire, designed and installed an experimental air purification system serving 14 patient rooms on the fifth floor of St. Luke's Allentown Campus. This advanced technology sterilizes the air flowing through the HVAC system, removing or neutralizing all pathogens – including the COVID-19 coronavirus – that might otherwise infect patients recovering on the unit from illness or surgery.

Dr. Worrilow and LifeAire, the Allentown, Pa., company she founded and runs, developed the air purification technology originally for the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) process, then innovatively adapted it for use in the air handling units in hospitals like St. Luke's. Pathogen-free air is essential for creating and sustaining life, making it ideal for IVF as well as for protecting patients while they heal.

Earlier this year as COVID-19 spread, LifeAire added a second system on the fifth floor to purify air inflow to the remaining 16 rooms of the unit. This fortunate and timely addition to the hospital came at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, introducing a technology that has the power to destroy the novel coronavirus that has claimed approximately 140,000 American lives so far this year.

The measurable clinical benefits of the air purification system installed in 2017 are impressive: patient lengths of stay dropped nearly 40%, making hospitalizations 23% less costly, according to an internal review of preliminary data.

The newest LifeAire unit couldn't have come to St. Luke's Allentown at a more critical time, as the American healthcare system seeks weapons to vanquish the coronavirus that continues to threaten the lives of persons both inside and outside of hospitals. LifeAire's ability to purify the air at St. Luke's Allentown confirms its estimable value alongside the healthcare heroes that fight the COVID-19 plague day after day.

"St. Luke's Allentown is thankful to have industry partners like LifeAire to aid in advancing the already safe and great care we provide to our patients," said Bill Moyer, president of St. Luke's Allentown.

About St. Luke's

Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 16,000 employees providing services at 12 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network's service area includes parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke's is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. St. Luke's University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health eight times total and six years in a row.

SOURCE St. Luke's University Health Network

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