Prudential Center Selects Parker Labs’ PROTEX As Cleaner For Athletic Training Rooms

Fairfield, NJ, September 20, 2011 – PROTEX™, a cleaner/disinfectant from Parker Laboratories, Fairfield, NJ, has been named the exclusive cleaner/disinfectant to be used in athletic training rooms at New Jersey’s Prudential Center, home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, men’s and women’s professional basketball, and Division I collegiate sports, as well as 100 other events every year.
 
According to Neal Buchalter, President, Parker Laboratories “It ensures the safest possible environment for the athletes that pass through Prudential Center’s doors.”
 
Devils Arena Entertainment President Rich Krezwick, added, “Such assurance is in keeping with the high quality reputation that we seek to maintain at our first class facility.”
 
PROTEX™ is a powerful one-step cleaner/disinfectant effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including MRSA, H1N1, HIV and many others. It is useful in disinfecting vinyl exam tables and athletic mats, counter tops and hard surfaces, exercise equipment, ultrasound transducers and other hard, nonporous, non-surgical surfaces. In addition, it is gentle to sensitive equipment and registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
 
“We are proud that PROTEX™ has been selected by the Prudential Center to protect the athletes and visitors who are attending events at the third busiest arena in the country,” said Neal Buchalter, President, Parker Laboratories. “In addition, it is very important to us that New Jersey’s leading sports and entertainment facility has aligned with a New Jersey-based company to maintain safety and health.”
 
MRSA and Skin Diseases
According to the National Association of Athletic Trainers (NATA), a review of the literature  about outbreaks of infectious diseases in competitive sports from 1922 through 2005 reported that more than half (56%) of all infectious diseases involved the skin.. NATA, in its 2010 position statement on skin diseases, notes that certified athletic trainers are the first line of defense against spread of these infections to other team members, citing preventive measures as well as immediate management of common skin infections as absolutely critical.
 
Among the preventive practices that NATA outlines is the need for a clean environment in the athletic training facility, locker rooms, and all athletic venues. Specifically, NATA states:
 
Cleaning and disinfection is primarily important for frequently touched surfaces such as wrestling mats, treatment tables, locker room benches, and floors
 
A detailed, documented cleaning schedule must be implemented for all areas within the infection control program, and procedures should be reviewed regularly.
 
The type of disinfectant or detergent selected for routine cleaning should be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, and the manufacturer’s recommendations for amount, dilution, and contact time should be followed.
 
The latest infection affecting athletes that has gained national attention is the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is responsible for about 60 percent of skin infections seen in emergency departments, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Less common, but more serious, is invasive MRSA, which kills an estimated 18,000 people each year, the society said. Such critical cases include pneumonia and infections of the blood, heart, bone, joints and central nervous system.