Far UVC lighting at Suzanne Elise Assisted Living.

No industry was as vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic as the nation’s assisted living facilities, where older Americans in congregate settings faced particular risk.

At Suzanne Elise Assisted Living in Seaside, maintenance director John Baldridge set out to bring additional layers to the residents, staff and visitors to the facility. Right now, Suzanne Elise is the only assisted living facility to have the system — one just purchased by the Pentagon for its buildings.

“We are on the leading edge of it,” Baldridge said. “It’s our future. I look at it and I say, ‘Why isn’t the whole world like getting involved in this?’”

The assisted living center, like other care homes in the region, had numerous outbreaks during the pandemic. In mid-March, the number of cases tied to an outbreak first reported by the Oregon Health Authority on Jan. 11 stood at 16 cases.

Baldridge believes the far-UVC system will make a difference in the future. Far-UVC, which filters rays in a similar manner as ultraviolet waves, kills bacteria over time and protects against airborne diseases.

Through a $100,000 Oregon Department of Human Services Long-Term Care Capital Infrastructure Improvement Grant, with 29 lights installed from $2,000 to $3,000 each.

UVC Cleaning Systems, Inc. installed the lights at Suzanne Elise in early March. Lights were placed in ceiling tiles on the first floor and within the sheetrock on the second floor.

Baldridge’s interest in healthier environments didn’t start with COVID, with experience in water purification, disinfection and UV-related products.

UVC is fairly common in airports and health care facilities, rolling big black lights that “zap everything,” he said.

While UVC is dangerous for extended human contact, the reduced far-UVC wavelength won’t penetrate the body.

The environment covered by far-UVC is “getting sanitized all the time,” Baldridge said.

He would like to see the technology used in local buildings, including the new Seaside High School and Middle School campus.

Baldridge said he foresees a product that would combine far-UVC technology inside of a regular LED light bulb, so it’s cleaning as it lights up the room. “It could change the world,” he said. “Can you imagine the difference?”

For now Baldridge is happy to make the atmosphere at Suzanne Elise a little healthier. “I’ve been in the hotel industry mostly all my life,” he said. “This is the same thing. I’m really good at hospitality. I love it. I like to treat these people like they’re in a hotel.”