There has been an increased movement to reduce healthcare-related infections due to antibiotic-resistant staphylococci. Because of its antibacterial properties, one new approach includes the introduction of metallic copper into horizontal touch surfaces present in hospitals. We hypothesized that with the minimal amount of environmental copper exposure currently in hospital environments, various species of staphylococci should retain high susceptibility to copper. The Medical University of South Carolina and Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center serve patients in Charleston, S.C., the low country of the southeastern U.S. From the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories of both facilities, 203 staphylococci (100 S. aureus and 103 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS)) were collected. Methicillin resistance (MR) and methicillin susceptibility (MS) were determined by cefoxitin disk diffusion testing on Mueller-Hinton agar. All isolates were tested for susceptibility to CuSO₄ using a broth dilution assay in nutrient broth (0.125 mM – 4 mM). The MIC and MBC of CuSO₄ were determined in duplicate for each organism. Additionally, a time-kill assay was performed in duplicate over a period of 24 hours for S. aureus ATCC 25923 at 1X, 2X, and 4X the MBC of CuSO₄. For all staphylococci, the MIC₁₀₀ was 1.0 mM and the MBC₁₀₀ was 2.0 mM with the MIC₉₀ for both CNS and S. aureus = 0.5 mM. There were no differences in susceptibility (MIC₉₀) between MSCNS and MRCNS nor were there any differences between MSSA and MRSA isolates. Bactereicidal activity (99.9% kill) of CuSO₄ was observed for S. aureus ATCC 25923 at 1X, 2X and 4X the MBC at 2 hours, respectively. These data indicate de novo susceptibility to copper sulfate for staphylococci isolated from our current population of hospitalized patients. Incorporation of metallic copper into healthcare-related touch surfaces could be expected to reduce the “bulk” of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant staphylococci on those touch surfaces, thus, reducing the potential risk of healthcare-related infections.