january 2014
Late News AmeriPride opens safety apparel store in North Dakota WILLISTON, N.D. — Uniform rental and linen supply company AmeriPride Services has opened a new safety apparel store here that specializes in flame-resistant (FR) and high-visibility apparel, the company reports. The new store supports AmeriPride’s Bismarck, N.D., production and distribution facility and its team of 135 sales, service and production employees in “providing safety products and expertise to local oil and gas businesses.” The store offers a selection of FR products, footwear and safety gear. “We have been serving the Bakken, including the Bismarck, Minot, Dickinson, Glendive and Williston communities, for more than 80 years, and we opened a safety apparel store to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to our customers in the area,” says Wiz Wyatt, vice president of supply chain at AmeriPride. “Our expertise in this area is unmatched in the industry, and the new store supports our local processing plant by providing a place for customers to walk in and easily obtain additional products that meet their safety apparel needs.” In addition to providing rental and cleaning of uniforms and safety apparel for oil, gas and other industries, the company’s Bismarck facility also offers lease or direct-buy options. “The processing plant recently added 9,000 square feet to its footprint, and is planning for future expansion,” the company says. ALN
Volume 40, Number 1
Ensure cleanliness through linen quality assurance program By Carlo Calma CHICAGO — For Barbara Williams, operations manager of consultative services at Standard Textile, defining the word “quality” can be somewhat of a challenge. “Why is it such a challenge?” Williams asks. “Because there is no universal interpretation. Quality means different things to different people.” Williams tackled the topic in a recent Association for Linen Management (ALM) webinar titled Building a Successful Linen Quality Assurance Program, offering to help laundry managers and healthcare facilities establish best practices and standards in their own programs. “In today’s healthcare environment, it’s imperative to provide a high-quality, hygienically clean and safe product to the end-user,” says Williams. “With current changes in hospital reimbursements, patient outcomes and patient satisfaction will have a major impact on the financial health of your facility, or your customers. Strong quality assurance programs are essential.” SETTING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
facility processes rental linens or customer-owned goods (COG), Williams first highlighted the importance of laundry managers soliciting customer input, feedback and recommendations. “You need to solicit customer input as far as their expectations and what they will agree is acceptable product in their system,” she says. Williams, however, did point out that expectations between a rental laundry vs. a COG plant can differ. “COG is going to have a lot more input … on what those standards of quality should be, whereas a [rental] laundry will also have a large say in the products that they keep circulating in the system,” she says. Despite the differences in expectations, as a laundry, the goal is providing quality product. “As laundry managers, you must provide a hygienically clean product in order to minimize the risk of spreading infection, and also provide a clean experience for the customer,” says Williams. “With new research on microorganisms that can survive on textiles, this is extremely important.” FOLLOWING GUIDELINES
Regardless of whether a laundry
Another set of responsibilities laundry managers must adhere to
in setting up a linen quality assurance program is following regulatory guidelines, says Williams. Organizations such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, The Joint Commission, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses and ALM have set standards and guidelines on processing healthcare linen, she says. Williams adds that not only should laundries maintain a sepa-
ration of soiled and cleaned linen, proper equipment maintenance and chemicals monitoring is essential. “If the equipment is not maintained, it can destroy the linen,” she says. “And improper chemicals can destroy the linen. It’s important to be sure to provide the proper pH value to your customers for See QUALITY on Page 17
ALM, ARTA push for better ‘red-bag’ waste education MISSION, Kan. — Each year, organizations within the U.S. healthcare system spend hundreds of millions of dollars disposing of healthcare linen as infectious or “red bag” waste or regulated medical waste (RMW). These funds are misspent, and could be saved with a few simple safeguards, according to the Association for Linen Management (ALM) and the American Reusable Textile
Association (ARTA). The main problem is a lack of education on OSHA regulations for the proper handling of healthcare linen contaminated by blood or bodily fluids. This gap in understanding has caused many healthcare facilities to err on the side of caution and train staff to dispose of contaminated linen as red-bag waste, the associations say. Many healthcare workers would
never consider putting contaminated linen in their own home washing machines. They are probably unaware that professional laundry operators use state-ofthe-art equipment and chemicals to successfully clean millions of pounds of dirty, soiled and contaminated linen on a daily basis, the groups say. Members of both groups— healthcare laundry operators—
www.americanlaundrynews.com
Inside Managing Finances
Eric Frederick offers time-proven advice about handling money.
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(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)
estimate that annually as much as 25% of their linen leaves client locations as red-bag waste. A survey last summer of 200 nurses and healthcare professionals at five U.S. healthcare systems revealed that 95% had recently disposed of at least one linen item as redbag waste — even though linen is reusable. See RED BAG on Page 4
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
[4]
Panel of Experts
Meet our new group of panelists who will address key issues throughout the year.
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Plant Design Basics
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Many factors must be considered well in advance.
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