While the international community builds a plan to thwart the African Ebola epidemic, Pullman Regional Hospital (PRH) is taking its own stand against disease.

PRH is one of three hospitals in the nation to receive a $10,000 grant from the Copper Development Association. PRH will use the grant to replace 1,200 stainless steel “touch points” with copper. These “touch points” are made with antimicrobial copper alloys manufactured by Hussy Copper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, according to a Pullman Regional Hospital press release.

A touch point constitutes any surface that is routinely handled by hospital personnel, guests and patients, this includes doorknobs, IV rails, push-plates for automatic doors, and sink handles among others.

PRH’s small size and nimbleness make it a perfect candidate to test the effectiveness of copper integration, said Megan Guido, director of marketing and community relations at PRH.

Eighty percent of infectious diseases are transferred by touch, according to the International Copper Association.

Both copper and brass are natural growth inhibitors and kill 99 percent of bacteria within two hours of contact, said Ed Harrich, director of surgical services.

“We are trying to stay under the national average number of infections caught in hospitals,” Harrich said. “We really don’t want to give these infections to anyone.”

Coppers biggest drawback is its price said David Field, associate dean for research at WSU’s College of Engineering and Architecture

“The Copper Development Association is always looking for more ways to implement copper,” Field said. “One of the main downsides is copper is expensive.”

Copper’s antimicrobial effects have been apparent for a decade, but it hadn’t been shown completely effective until recent years, Field said.

While “touch points” are routinely sanitized, certain places such as the back of a door handle simply do not get cleaned quite as well as others and bacteria can stay on these surfaces for up to two weeks. Even the hard to reach areas of copper door handles aren’t safe for bacteria.

Harrich said in addition to the $10,000 grant from the Copper Development Association, the hospital allocated $5,000 to purchase and install the copper. They plan on continuing to replace steel surfaces with copper as long as there is room in the hospital’s budget.

Along with the switch from steel to copper, PRH is using portable UV light stations and UV wands to directly kill bacteria on any hard surface. UV lights are used to destroy the reproduction chain of bacteria, Harrich said, and surfaces closest to the lights will see a complete sanitation within 20 minutes.

Computer stations also have washable keyboards that are put in the hospital’s sanitation machine, similar to a dishwasher. Hand towels have been replaced by antimicrobial towels, which hold significantly less bacteria within their weaves.

These new techniques will not replace any current sanitation practices, but simply add another layer of protection at PRH, Harrich said.