ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A pioneering care home for the elderly with an integrated nursery, opened this January, is the first healthcare facility in France to implement copper touch surfaces to help reduce the risk of infections.

The handrails and door furniture were produced by French company Cuivrinox, and bear the Antimicrobial Copper Cu+ mark, which signifies the products are capable of continuously killing pathogenic microbes, 24 hours a day, in-between cleans.

The new Centre Inter Générationnel Multi Accueil (CIGMA) in Laval, France consists of a nursery for 35 infants and a 60-bed care home for dependent elderly people, and is equipped throughout with copper handrails and door handles. With normal cleaning, the antimicrobial copper surfaces will kill viruses, bacteria and funghi that could otherwise remain on the surfaces.

Set in the heart of an eco-district, the CIGMA building of nearly 6,000 square metres has been designed with green credentials in mind. Using renewable energy has been an important consideration – geothermal energy is used for heating, solar energy for hot water, and a ‘green roof’ tops the building’s excellent environmental performance.  It is currently in the process of obtaining a certificate for high energy performance and renewable energy (HPE-EnR).