ORLANDO, FL – Vestagen Technical Textiles, Inc., today announced that the American Hospital Association (AHA) has awarded its exclusive endorsement to Vestex® Active Barrier protective healthcare apparel. The endorsement is based on an extensive due diligence process that assessed Vestex’s ability to protect healthcare workers and reduce the bacteria on clothing that contribute to the risk of healthcare-acquired infections (HAI’s) in patients and hospital staff. Reducing HAI’s is an important goal of the AHA, public health agencies, hospital payers, and AHA member institutions.

“AHA’s data-driven endorsement is a powerful validation of Vestex’s ability to help protect healthcare workers, patients and the public by reducing potentially dangerous bacteria and contamination on clothing,” said Uncas “Ben” B. Favret III, president and CEO of Vestagen. “This endorsement provides confirmation to our distributors, partners and rapidly-growing customer base that the protective qualities engineered into Vestex fabrics will perform as promised in real life hospital settings. We view AHA’s endorsement as especially impactful due to their expertise, prestige and demanding, highly analytical due diligence assessments. Many companies are now rushing healthcare apparel to market claiming protective properties, but Vestex is the only one to have passed muster in a rigorous review process.” 

Healthcare workers are at daily risk of exposure to dangerous pathogens and other contaminants, and they can unknowingly spread these contaminants to patients, other workers, family members and the public. Vestex garments are made from a new class of active barrier protective fabrics that are clinically proven to prevent or reduce the acquisition and retention of microbes and other contaminants. Vestex is engineered to have robust body fluid repellency and embedded antimicrobial properties, along with the enhanced breathability, exceptional durability, styling flexibility and affordability needed for everyday use.

“A new report from the Centers for Disease Control highlights the important gains hospitals have made in reducing the incidence of HAIs, but it also notes more action is needed,” said Anthony Burke, senior vice president of the AHA, and president and CEO of AHA Solutions, Inc. “Our endorsement of Vestex Active Barrier protective apparel is therefore especially timely. Worker clothing is widely recognized as a source of potential disease transmission in healthcare settings, and Vestex is the only protective apparel that has demonstrated the ability to reduce the spread of dangerous organisms in peer-reviewed clinical studies. Vestagen also makes it easy for healthcare workers to adopt its protective uniforms, by producing garments that are comfortable, durable, attractive and affordable. We look forward to supporting the company as it brings the benefits of its protective Vestex apparel to our member institutions nationwide.”

Mr. Favret added, “The rapid increase in awareness among healthcare workers and patients that clothing is a source of potential contamination is driving our commercialization strategy of working with strong channel partners to ensure that Vestex garments are widely available to our diverse customers. This exclusive endorsement by the AHA will be a powerful tool for our partners and distributors, by underscoring the importance of the safety issues we are addressing and providing high level, expert confirmation that Vestex is the one apparel option that helps protect healthcare workers and patients. The endorsement also gives us the opportunity to leverage the marketing expertise of the AHA’s subsidiary, AHA Solutions, Inc., to expedite our access to thousands of hospitals nationwide.”

Contaminated clothing is a known carrier of bacteria, and healthcare workers have the highest rate of illness of any occupation in the U.S. Contamination with difficult-to-treat organisms such as MRSA and c. difficile puts workers at risk and is responsible for many of the most serious hospital acquired infections. A peer-reviewed published study confirmed that Vestex-protected nurse scrub uniforms (which utilized Vestex’s unique combination of a fluorine/silicon oxide body fluid repellent and an organosilicon quaternary ammonium antimicrobial) demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in MRSA of more than 99.99% compared to the non-protective scrub uniforms used in many hospitals today.

For more information about Vestagen and Vestex, visit vestagen.com and vestexprotects.com.

About Vestagen

Vestagen Technical Textiles develops and markets advanced performance textile products and technologies. Vestagen has developed Vestex®, which represents a new class of technology- based, active barrier protective fabrics combining antimicrobial, liquid repellent and breathability properties. Vestex uniforms and scrubs are designed to protect healthcare workers and their patients from dangerous contaminants. They are clinically proven to prevent or reduce the acquisition and retention of contaminants on clothing and are comfortable, durable and affordable. For more information, visit www.vestagen.com.

About the AHA

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, who include nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. Visit www.aha.org to learn more.

About AHA Solutions

AHA Solutions, Inc. is a resource to hospitals pursuing operational excellence. As an AHA member service, AHA Solutions collaborates with hospital leaders to identify key challenges the field faces. We then work with market consultants to conduct the proprietary AHA Signature Due Diligence ProcessTM and identify solutions. AHA Solutions provides access to content experts and education to support product decision making. As a subsidiary of the AHA, the organization convenes people with like interests for knowledge sharing that is centered on timely information and research. AHA Solutions is proud to reinvest its profits in the AHA Mission: To advance the health of individuals and communities. For more information, contact AHA Solutions at 800.242.4677 or visit www.aha-solutions.org.