FEBRUARY 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Atlas Linen Healthcare Services and Alliance Laundry and Textile Services officially became Clarus Linen Systems Jan. 21. The company, which provides linen management services to healthcare clients in six states from nine production facilities, selected the name Clarus from the latin word for “clear” to represent the quality of its reusable linen products and its commitment to providing clear thinking about efficient patient care, according to Clarus CEO John Giardino. “We chose Clarus as our new name because it reflects our mission—clear thinking about services that enhance patient satisfaction delivered by a system that allows our clients to manage their costs efficiently,” explains Giardino. The company’s rebranding is more than just a name change, he notes. “We want to partner with our healthcare clients to provide the best experience for patients and to manage costs for better financial results.” Clarus Linen Systems provides linen management systems to healthcare institutions throughout the Northeastern and Southern United States. Winner of a 2013 SafeTRSA Innovator Award, Clarus has more than 1,200 employees serving markets in South Carolina, Georgia, eastern Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. ALN
Volume 40, Number 2
BY NANCY JENKINS MISSION, Kan. — It’s a miracle really. Each day, modern laundries receive millions of pounds of dirty healthcare linen, wash it, and within 24 hours deliver clean linens back to their customers—hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, clinics and nursing homes—365 days a year in some cases, rain or shine. The reliability of the textile services industry is such that it can be compared to utility companies that provide clean water or electricity. Customers need the product and expect uninterrupted service, but nothing upsets things more than a price increase! One could say customers take linen for granted. Providers are so good at what they do, and so reasonably priced, linen service has become “commoditized.” And therein lies the problem. As 2014 begins, it is imperative to educate users on the proper handling of soiled healthcare linen and the value in doing so. Why now? In an era of escalating costs and shrinking budgets, healthcare facilities inadvertently spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to replace linen that is thrown away as trash or infectious, “red bag” waste. They then pay waste haulers to dispose of said trash in the nation’s landfills. The culprit? Lack of education.
Two trade associations are developing an industry education campaign to create greater awareness on the proper handling of healthcare linen soiled with blood or bodily fluid, much of which is being thrown away as trash or infectious, “red bag” waste.
The good news: There is a solution. We human beings have the ability to talk, listen and learn. We can change our behavior. The bad news: It won’t be easy. As human beings, we tend to resist change. Our old habits die hard.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Comparing Textile Rental Services Association members’ workplace safety performance metrics with recently released incident rates for the textile services industry as a whole indicates that members are benefiting substantially from TRSA efforts to foster enhanced safety management practices, the association reports. Industrywide, 2012 incident rates calculated by the federal Department of Labor are as much as 65% higher than those of TRSA members in the same year. Data published in January by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, a Labor Department agency) covering the entire linen and
uniform supply (LUS) business contained noticeably higher rates than the TRSA survey of members taken earlier this year: • LUS total reported incident rate (TRIR) of 6.2 incidents per 100 full-time workers vs. 5, or 24% higher. • LUS days away from work, reassignment and transfer (DART) rate, 4.4 per 100 fulltime workers vs. 3.5, or 26% higher. • Industrial laundry segment of LUS: TRIR, 6 vs. 4, or 50% higher. • Industrial laundry, DART, 4.3 vs. 2.6, or 65% higher. Especially in the last decade, with the introduction of SafeTRSA
Because linen is typically undervalued by end-users, a substantial amount winds up in the trash. Because handling procedures for soiled See TEXTILES on Page 6
online safety training resources, TRSA has enhanced member interaction on workplace injury and illness issues. “We are pleased with our members’ response to TRSA efforts to foster enhanced safety management practices, and our annual survey has quantified their success,” says TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci. “Our track record of incident reduction indicates we continue to reduce risk and make headway in achieving zero-injury workplaces.” From 2008 to 2012, TRSA survey respondents’ TRIR fell 36% and their DART rate dropped 33%. It’s ambitious given LUS companies’ heavy-duty machinery
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INSIDE Linen Distribution
Take note and investigate alternatives to traditional methods.
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DEFINING THE PROBLEM
TRSA-member safety data betters industry’s as whole and steep manual material-handling requirements in laundries and on the road making deliveries and pickups. The TRIR for all U.S. industry is 3.4, about one-third less than TRSA’s. In manufacturing, which faces safety challenges similar to those of large-scale laundering, TRIR is 4.3, only about 14% less. Two years ago, TRSA introduced an annual Safety Summit meeting for industry executives to collaborate on new solutions to persistent risks such as driver safety, ergonomics, blood-borne pathogens and hazard communication. The 2014 summit is scheduled for June 18-19 at the Omni ALN Nashville (Tenn.) Hotel.
The Newspaper of Record for Laundry & Linen Management
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SHOWCASE
Atlas, Alliance officially become Clarus Linen Systems
Healthcare linen imperative: Create value, appreciation for ‘commoditized’ product
PRODUCT
Late News
LARGECAPACITY WASHEREXTRACTORS
Panel of Experts
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Here’s advice on how to reduce your percentage of stain rewash.
1/22/14 1:25 PM