Content about Labor

CHEMICALS SUPPLY: MARLENE WILLIAMS, ANDERSON CHEMICAL CO., LITCHFIELD, MINN.

We have chosen to address three common stubborn stains that can best be managed with procedure, machine programs and chemistry. We will outline procedures important to all stain removal and then address specifics for each stain category.

In all cases, it is important to either pre-treat the stain, or begin the laundering process, as soon as possible after staining. The sooner that stains are removed from the fabric, the less aggressive the program required for removal and the greater the possibility for success.

With a few exceptions, it is important to treat stain removal with the warmest temperature appropriate for the fabric and color blends. Chemical activity increases with elevated temperature and stain removal is generally enhanced with higher temperatures. Exceptions to the “higher the better” are situations involving color fading/bleeding, fabric shrinking, protein or blood “setting,” or exceeding temperatures recommended for enzyme products.           

Medicinal Stains — There are a number of medicinal preparations that can be irreversibly set with chlorine bleach if not thoroughly removed prior to bleach process. Chlorhexidine gluconate and iodine preparations must be thoroughly rinsed prior to standard wash cycles. Education of healthcare staff regarding possibility of irreversible staining, vigilance by laundry staff for particular laundry categories, and possible replacements of non-staining materials can provide solutions. Salves and skin-protection preparations compounded with oils may need special attention and are best removed with selective surfactant products.

Food Stains — Food stains are common to healthcare and hospitality linens. Conventional chemistry with increased alkali and detergent usually provides satisfactory results for greasy soils. Protein stains can be removed with a bleach program step if fabric dyes are compatible. There are a number of enzyme detergents and enzyme presoak products that provide good removal of protein and/or greasy stains if soak time is available. Be sure to match specific enzyme product to type of food stain.

Athletic Uniforms — School and professional athletic colors have never been selected for laundry compatibility! Before beginning any aggressive stain-removal program, make sure that both uniform materials of construction and colors can withstand temperatures and chemistry chosen. Always consult manufacturer’s care tags. Temperature and chlorine bleach are two often-exceeded treatments that can do irreversible damage to fabric finish, fading/bleeding of incompatible colors, and overall irreversible color deposition. There are also a small number of hazardous chemistries that are used to strip dyes and field marking colors. These should be avoided by using an enzyme presoak program if team schedules allow.

It is important to identify impact-generated (helmet and plastic padding) stains that are a result of fabric and protective gear colors being physically transferred into the opposing team’s uniform fabric. Impact transfer is usually an irreversible situation.

COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY: TOM GILDRED, EMERALD TEXTILES, SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

From the perspective of an industrial healthcare linen services provider, the most stubborn stains regularly encountered include bodily fluids, metal and rust stains, tape residue and finally medicinal chemical stains.

We address these difficult stains through a multi-tiered approach, designed to address each particular type of stain. Time, temperature, chemical action and mechanical action are the keys to effective stain removal, and can be adjusted as each case requires. 

As a first step, we work closely with our chemical company to create the proper formulation, or “chemical cocktail,” to remove specific types of stains. Heavily stained linens are identified during soil sort and separated for special treatment.

After the appropriate treatment has been determined, we pre-wash the heavily stained items to remove the first level of soil in our heavy-duty single-batch washers. Hand inspection is employed throughout the process to determine what the next steps are, as well as to ensure quality control. A stringent quality-control program ensures that we effectively launder items until the stains are eradicated.

Because of the intense nature of healthcare laundry stains, there are instances in which items are destroyed in the process of stain removal and those pieces are placed in our linen recycling program. By continually evolving our processes, and working with our chemical vendor, we successfully remove a large number of stains.

TEXTILES: TOM LANGDON, ENCOMPASS GROUP, MCDONOUGH, GA.

Not having had much experience with this topic, I sought the advice of a few long-time laundry professionals. What I found was a little surprising. While most agreed about which substances were the most difficult to treat and remove, their approaches to accomplish this task were completely different.

One approach is stain avoidance. The process starts with sorting the soiled linen from least stained to most stained, or light, medium or heavy soil. By isolating the dirtiest linen, the launderer reduces the chance of contaminating the rest. They also sort by soil factor (whether the stains are protein- or oil-based), as this will determine what wash formula should be used to process the linen. Using this approach, most of the cleaner linen can run through the normal process and be cleaned satisfactorily. They then save the “blood load” to be processed at the end of the shift when the wash formula, along with temperature and process time, can be adjusted.

On the other end of the spectrum is the “one wash” method. Using this approach, the laundry does not segregate its linen because it has optimized its process and system to yield the best overall cleaning results. Of course, if an item that is obviously heavily soiled turns up, they would not process it, preferring instead to rag it out. As stains are the enemy of efficiency, this method works to minimize their disruption on the process.

Stains, after all, are a big problem. Some operators advise that they incur more loss due to stains than to wearing out product through processing. Up to three times more product is “ragged out” because of stains than from actually being worn out.

Regardless of the approach, most operators agree that, in the healthcare setting, Hibiclens, or chlorhexidine gluconate/isopropanol, is the toughest stain to get out. This antiseptic liquid is applied directly to a patient’s skin at the incision site prior to surgery. Its normal state is a clear pink liquid. After being transferred to a textile article and exposed to chlorine bleach during processing, it turns orange-brown and is a difficult stain to remove.

The products themselves play a part in the challenge of dealing with stains. Results from my research rank incontinence products, patient apparel and bath items as the products that experience the most stains. Fabric type is also a factor in stain resistance and stain removal.

Due to advances in finishing chemistry and applications, polyester-rich products actually fare better than cotton-rich items, even though in its natural state polyester has an affinity for oil. These predominantly synthetic-rich products also last longer, which is a plus when exposing them to additional mechanical action and stronger wash formulas that can accelerate the breakdown of cotton-rich fabrics.

Stain treatments are changing. Historically, stain-release treatments were based on C8 fluorocarbon chemistry that has been identified as being harmful to the environment and bio-accumulative. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has requested a voluntary elimination of this chemistry by 2015; manufacturers of these products have been working toward alternatives since 2000. As with most developments, the alternative technologies are more expensive to produce. Some estimates predict as much as a double-digit increase in the cost of stain removal with the new technology as compared to current options.

Regardless of which method you use to process your tough stains, one thing is clear. Stains are here to stay and will become more challenging to treat as the demands for environmentally friendly chemistry becomes the norm.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

CHICAGO — Laundry services managers find dependability to be a highly valued trait in their employees, according to the results of this month’s AmericanLaundryNews.com Wire survey.

Roughly 43% of managers who responded to the survey say dependability is the trait they value most in an employee. Next most valued is trustworthiness (20%), followed by being a team player (16.7%) and having a positive attitude (13.3%).

Managers are less in agreement about the undesirable traits that are the surest way for an employee to tick them off. No. 1 is unreliability, chosen by 26.7%. Equal shares of 16.7% dislike the actions of employees who don’t follow the rules or who don’t work well with others.

Disloyalty (13.3%), lacking initiative (10%), being unmotivated (6.7%) and failing to meet goals/deadlines (6.7%) are some other sure-to-tick-off traits.

Roughly 43% of respondents say they directly supervise fewer than 10 employees day to day. Another 23.3% supervise 10 to 25 employees, and another 20% supervise 26-50 workers. The remaining 13.3% oversee 51 to 75 employees. No one who took the survey supervises more than 75 employees.

More than half of respondents (53.3%) say their job title falls under laundry management. Others fall under “other” (20%), general administration (13.3%), environmental services (6.7%), housekeeping (3.3%) and purchasing (3.3%).

Seventy percent of respondents received formal management training before they were named a manager.

While the Wire survey presents a snapshot of readers’ viewpoints at a particular moment, it should not be considered scientific.

Subscribers to Wire e-mails—distributed twice weekly—are invited to take a brief industry survey anonymously online each month. All managers and administrators of institutional/OPL, cooperative, commercial and industrial laundries are encouraged to participate, as a greater number of responses will help to better define operator opinions and industry trends.

To sign up for the Wire, click the “Subscriptions” button at the top right-hand corner of this page and follow the instructions.

EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTION: STEVE CLARK, LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT SERVICES INC., BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA.

As with any mechanical industry in the world today, technology is ever evolving and continues to push equipment to its max in terms of production and efficiency. This is no different in the laundry industry—as long as you use it properly.

Forget all the bells and whistles of additional means for energy conservation and get down to the nitty-gritty of what it takes to improve your laundry’s energy efficiency and water consumption with the equipment you already have. Something that laundry managers often forget is the amount of water in an individual cycle’s bath and the amount of that water retained in the linen at the end of the cycle.

First, do you know how many gallons are in a particular bath? If so, then do you truly need that much? Does your machine capacity and chemical makeup require such an amount of water? With advancements in technology and computer programming, every leading manufacturer of equipment is capable of customizing water consumption on a per-bath/per-cycle basis. Obviously, this cycle variation will depend on the material being laundered. Regardless, it would be wise to break down the water level and percentage of drum capacity with your chemical representative to determine if this percentage can be tweaked.

Imagine saving 1 gallon per bath/per cycle and multiply that by the number of cycles you run throughout a given day. For example, one machine removes 1 gallon of water from five baths in one cycle. At 5 gallons per load and two loads an hour, that equals 10 gallons saved per hour, or 80 gallons saved per eight-hour shift.

Beyond the amount of water going into an individual wash cycle, what about the water coming out? The water retention amount per load can destroy your laundry’s efficiency in the drying or finishing stages of the process. For every percentage point of moisture in a given material, expect additional minutes to be spent in a dryer or finisher, thus requiring more labor, gas, electricity, etc., per load.

Water retention is affected by the amount of water introduced, the extraction rate of RPMs applying the respective G-force, and the length of extraction time. Due to previously mentioned advances in technology and programming capabilities, most equipment is capable of adjusting the RPMs and the length of extraction time to limit moisture retention to a desired amount for premium linen quality and energy efficiency.

Limit your expenses and help the environment; maximize your efficiency.

COMMERCIAL LAUNDRY: TOM GILDRED, EMERALD TEXTILES, SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

Greater energy efficiency and water conservation can be achieved through planning and design using the new technology available in equipment such as continuous batch washers, presses, and dryers.

In some areas, utilities companies and commissions have special incentive programs designed to encourage businesses to be as energy efficient as possible. In working with your utility company, it is possible to precisely plan for proper equipment and energy use in order to achieve maximum savings.

Employing “reduce and reuse” principles ensures that the highest possible level of resource preservation is achieved throughout an operation. By incorporating the latest technology, equipment, processes and infrastructure, it is possible to save millions of gallons of water annually and tremendous amounts of natural gas and electricity. Some of the ways to achieve tremendous savings include:

• Utilizing energy-efficient lighting, and motion-sensor lighting where appropriate, throughout the plant and offices to reduce energy use.
• Going green with invoices, by using e-mail instead of paper to conserve ink, energy and eliminate paper waste.
• Using environmentally sustainable, lighter fabrics that not only make sense for the environment but also require less drying time.
• Utilizing gravity-enabled designs in the plant, such as an overhead rail system, that moves laundry through the facility using minimal energy to produce less risk and strain to employees.
• Installing the latest industrial washers that utilize high-tech water systems with the ability to decrease water usage by more than 75%.
• Incorporating high-pressure presses to remove the maximum amount of water from clean goods and greatly reduce drying time, resulting in lower natural gas consumption.
• Employing heat reclamation equipment, which employs energy-transfer principles to raise the incoming water temperature so that a lot less energy is needed for heating.

Through technology and streamlined processes, it is possible to achieve tremendous energy savings, which results in cost savings and reduced environmental impact. That’s good for the industry and good for the environment.

TEXTILES: TOM LANGDON, ENCOMPASS GROUP, MCDONOUGH, GA.

There are a number of relatively new textile products on the market that can help improve a laundry’s energy and water consumption. Technology developments in yarn spinning and finishing chemistry now allow synthetic fibers to have more natural fiber characteristics.

Fasciated yarn is defined by Webster’s as a form of fiber assembly consisting of a core of parallel discontinuous fibers bound into a compact bundle by surface wrapping minor proportion of the discontinuous fibers around the core to form the yarn. The most common type is MJS, or Murata Jet Spinning, named after the Japanese manufacturer that perfected this technique.

By using this process to spin all polyester or CVS (Chief Value Synthetic) fibers into yarn, products have a more “cotton-like” look and feel. Recent developments in finishing chemistry now can impart wicking and moisture management properties on fabrics once considered nonabsorbent. This market trend started several years ago with sheets and pillowcases, but now has spread into most product groups, including incontinent pads and even thermal blankets.

There are a few challenges that any laundry may have to address when considering incorporating these new products into their system. No. 1 is the difference in cost. Depending on the item, replacing an existing CVC (Chief Value Cotton) item with one that is all-poly or poly rich could be a 20-40% premium in upfront investment over the standard linen price. The second challenge is processing. Because manmade fiber products dry faster and absorb less water, they need to be processed separately to achieve their full benefits. In some cases, this may be more trouble than it is worth.

Although there is an upfront investment, adding these items to a line will more than provide payback over time. By its nature, polyester is stronger than cotton and will last longer. There is less weight loss, which helps protect revenues for those charging by the pound. Studies have shown that these poly-rich items are more resistant to staining, so there is savings to be had by reducing rewash cycles or pre-treating.

This past year was the best time ever to add more poly-rich items to your line or convert completely. The unprecedented rise in cotton prices in 2011 closed the gap, so in some cases switching was a wash (no pun intended), or the premium was slight. If you look at these items from a cost-per-use perspective, they still are a good value.

I’ll offer a few statistics. One company that I work with did some in-house testing on the processing of these new, synthetic-rich items and achieved the following results on several product categories (of course, results may vary from laundry to laundry):

Knit Sheets — Drying time was reduced 25-40% as compared to a cotton-rich item, and water retention was cut in half.

Pads — Drying time was reduced by 50% as compared to a cotton-rich item, and water retention was reduced by 20%.

Clothing Protectors — Drying time was reduced by 60% as compared to a cotton-rich item, and water retention reduced by 40%.

If laundries embrace this new technology, they will experience faster drying times and use less water. They will also have products that last longer. Saving money and time while conserving resources, now that’s a win-win.

HOTEL/MOTEL/RESORT LAUNDRY: JR NORRIS, DELTA UNIFORM AND LINEN, ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

As energy prices begin to soar, and with today’s current economic uncertainty, now is an excellent time to implement energy benchmarking and waste reduction in your operation.

Conducting energy audits on a regular basis can help determine the actual condition of your equipment as well as its overall performance. These audits can show where and how energy is being wasted, and can help you identify and prioritize future energy-improvement measures.

Unfortunately, it took some time to get our entire team to recognize the benefits and contribute to reducing wasted resources. In addition to insulating hot water and steam lines and repairing leaky valves, we conducted frequent walk-and-talk meetings with maintenance and laundry managers to identify a starting point.

Since our machines are older, we decided we should determine their energy consumption first. To start the process, we had our local electricity provider complete an audit. It conducted a weeklong audit of our usage and compared peak vs. non-peak times. Through these findings, we learned which equipment was pulling the highest amperage and then made proactive decisions to determine what we could do to conserve.

After the audit was complete, we reviewed all of our older equipment that was wasting the most energy. The most energy-consuming piece of equipment turned out to be a 50-hp air compressor, and, unfortunately, we have two of them in place. In an effort to reduce this waste, we purchased a new 25-hp motor, changed the pulleys and reduced the overall amps being used.

Some may ask why we didn’t purchase a new, energy-efficient compressor. We believe in saving first and purchasing newer equipment after all other options have been exhausted.

For example, we had a 900-pound Ellis washer that had such a hard start-up and used so many amps that it continuously caused problems. We implemented today’s technology and installed a soft-start invert drive. This dramatically reduced our daily amps and allowed room on our circuit breaker to install more equipment on our two different power sources. This method of resolution has proven successful in our operation.

In addition to modifying equipment to conserve energy, we also found that by utilizing our skylights as a natural light source, we were able to reduce the number of hours a day that our overhead lights are on. With the generous amount of sunlight that we have in New Mexico, we tapped into this natural resource. The additional natural light encourages more positive production out of our employees than working under bright fluorescent lighting. To take this a step further, we are installing photocells on our fixtures to automatically reduce lighting usage.

The next energy-saving effort we will focus on is a system for reclaiming water. We have grown significantly over the last few years, and have learned that this system will be a vital contributor for cost savings and water preservation. We are in the process of researching this method to determine our future implementation efforts.

Conserving energy can be as easy as wrapping and insulating lines or identifying and repairing all leaking water and air valves. Enlisting your local energy service provider to provide audits of your current consumption can give you a better understanding of your usage and allow you to easily identify waste. Empowering your team to conserve and promote awareness of energy waste can improve the success of your efforts. Education and implementation is the best way to reduce our industry’s carbon footprint and benefit the environment, but it also can assist in reducing our collective bottom lines.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

CHICAGO — The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) has unveiled its new professional education brand identity—ENGAGE.

It reflects AHE’s leadership position in providing on-target education pertaining to the healthcare environment. Each of AHE’s professional education programs will operate under this master brand.

“The AHE brand, launched in 2010, conveys a sense of professional excellence,” says Patti Costello, AHE executive director. “This strategic business decision leverages the strength of the AHE’s brand while emphasizing a wide array of educational offerings and reflects AHE’s commitment to career-long learning.”

ROANOKE, Va. — Providing an OR towel that has little lint or is lint-free is a universal challenge for all laundry facilities that supply reusable OR towels to a healthcare facility. You can take some key steps to ensure that the product coming out of processing has a minimum amount of lint.

The first is to make sure that you purchase a high-quality reusable OR towel. The quality of the weave and the fiber used in product construction has a direct bearing on the amount of lint that will be generated in processing. As a general rule, the lower the cost of the OR towel, the greater the amount of lint.

Recently, several linen companies have experienced problems with previously reliable sources, as poor-quality cotton has made its way into the production pipeline. Carefully research your options and insist on test-washing any OR towels before committing your business to a particular vendor. This is one item for which you are better off committing all your business to one vendor based on its ability to consistently provide a high-quality product.

Constant vigilance for potential product problems has become a necessary part of laundry management. Product consistency will make, not break, your reputation with your customers.

Next, make sure that reusable OR towels are processed separately from disposable (single-use) towels. Most disposable OR towels are blue in color and of a lower quality than reusable OR towels. In addition, disposable OR towels are sterilized by irradiation, which has a detrimental effect on the cotton fiber.

Because of these two factors, the amount of lint generated by disposable OR towels when washed in the laundry will be much higher than that generated by reusable OR towels. It is therefore recommended that, during the soil-sort process, these towels be sorted into a separate batch. Disposable OR towels can easily be sold to a number of industries once they are properly cleaned.

You must take care during soil sorting to ensure that no foreign objects are placed in the load with the reusable OR towels. It is normal to find pieces of gauze in the bags containing reusable OR towels. These pieces will disintegrate into white pieces of lint during processing. Removing these foreign bodies will eliminate the problem.

I recommend sorting the OR towels twice to make sure that all foreign items are removed. During the initial high-speed sort, some items normally get past the sorters who are trying hard to make production numbers. Sending the OR towels past them a second time will help them catch what they missed the first time around.

I recommend adding one or two green poly-cotton sheets to each wash load of green OR towels. Ray Pierson, one of my supervisors who used to work for National Linen, made this recommendation based on his experience there. I had my doubts at first, but decided to give it a try.

We always fully dry our OR towels before inspecting them by hand and folding them. The process of ironing a damp OR towel will cause fibers to stretch and create thermal shock, which will result in additional linting next time. We have found that the green sheets act like lint magnets when washed and dried with a load of OR towels, greatly reducing if not eliminating the lint.

We inspect each OR towel to ensure the quality of the products that are delivered to our customers. This process greatly reduces inventory management issues. If the OR towels are not inspected, then facilities will order more than they really need. Through inspection, the orders accurately reflect what they really need. Having the responsibility for inspecting OR towels done by the surgical pack room simplifies the allocation between OR packs and loose towels.

The reusable surgical linen business requires a higher quality standard than general hospital linen but, if priced appropriately, can be a great addition to your volume and your bottom line.

FAIRWAY, Kan. — There’s nothing like learning from peers who have blazed a trail of success. That’s why the American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA) will feature operator roundtable sessions—on sales and controlling linen losses—each day of its 2012 Education Conference next week in Memphis, Tenn.

The Tuesday through Thursday conference is titled Marketing Reusables in 2012: How Clean is Clean, How to Sell Clients – and Control Losses After the Sale. In addition to operator roundtables with Q&A, ARTA will host speakers from the Mayo Clinic, 3M, Encompass Group, the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) and more.

A technical service representative from 3M will address Standards of Clean – How Do We Measure It? Francis Zieman, RN, BSN, MS, CSPDT, will provide an overview of tools and methods to measure cleanliness and then invite members of the audience to test different items, based on written instructions.

HLAC Inspection Chair Judy Reino, Reino Linen, will review best practices during Infection Prevention 101: Practices for the Laundry. Her review will include facility design, personnel, equipment and processes, transportation and clean-linen storage.

Mayo Clinic’s Cindy Molko, RLLD, director of linen services, will offer practical advice you can take back to the office in the session, Infection Prevention and You.

Some other sessions include an update on Cotton and Textile Issues in 2012: What to Expect from Tom Langdon, vice president of sourcing and purchasing for Encompass Group, and Hotel Guest, Hospital Patient or Visitor: Is Your Health at Risk? by Steve Tinker, vice president, Gurtler Industries.

The two operator roundtables planned, Capturing the Healthcare Sale and Case Studies on Stop-Loss Strategies, will feature profit and not-for-profit, regional, and national operators sharing their strategies for selling reusable surgical textiles and controlling losses. All sessions will leave time for Q&A from the audience.

ARTA’s conference will take place at The Peabody Hotel and is open to members and nonmembers, as well as all sister associations.

The Welcome Reception hosted by MIP and Encompass kicks off the event on Tuesday. Attendees who arrive that afternoon can sign up for a tour of Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare Laundry or visit Graceland.

The education program starts Wednesday with sessions running all day, and includes a group lunch. Attendees can mingle and network at the Sponsors’ Reception that evening at The Cotton Museum and Exchange.

The conference ends at noon on Thursday. Continental breakfast is included both days before education sessions begin.

Registration is still open. Visit the ARTA website or contact Executive Director Nancy Jenkins at njenkins@arta1.com for more information.

EXCHANGE 2012, AHE Annual Conferernce & Healthcare Marketplace, provides unprecedented opportunities to learn, share best practices, experience new products, network with colleagues and ENGAGE with experts from all across the country.

WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — As the commercial laundry industry commits to a more sustainable future, ASTM International is proposing a new standard to identify and define sustainable management practices to help commercial laundries reduce their impact on the environment.

The standard, known as ASTM WK35985 or Practice for Sustainable Laundry Best Management Practices, is being developed by a subcommittee under the jurisdiction of ASTM International Committee D13 on Textiles.

Gary Gramp of the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) is chairing the task group developing the new standard. “We are looking to further reduce our carbon footprint and enhance our environmental stewardship by developing ASTM WK35985. Our goal is to encourage the implementation of best management practices for sustainability at all commercial laundry facilities.”

Gramp says the methodology for assessing the best practices will certify that any given laundry process is sustainable and compliant to the standard. The proposed standard hits on such areas as water-reuse technology; heat recovery; environmentally friendly and low-temperature detergents; wastewater treatment; and energy-efficient lighting, among others.

In addition to commercial laundry facilities, Gramp says potential stakeholder groups include users of reusable textiles in the restaurant, hospitality and healthcare industries; government agencies; and environmental organizations.

The next ASTM Committee D13 meeting is set for June 24-27 in San Diego. For more on the proposed standard or to participate in its development, contact Gary Gramp at 703-519-0029, ext. 111; e-mail ggramp@trsa.org.

ASTM International is an international firm focused on standards development and delivery systems. Visit astm.org to learn more about the organization.

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — Bill Carey has been in the laundry business his entire adult life. Six years ago, he took over the helm at Space Coast Hospital Services, a not-for-profit hospital cooperative laundry.

“Our mission is to help our hospitals reduce their cost of linen services,” Carey says. “If we don’t help them, somebody else will. We are operating in an extremely competitive environment right now, and we have to deliver.”

Education, Training Lead to Savings

Besides linen management, another area where Space Coast Hospital Services has reduced client linen costs is in isolation gowns. Carey credits Bobby Coble, territory manager, acute care, Encompass Group, with helping meet client needs.

“Traditional gowns tie in the back,” Coble says. “Ties in the back are more difficult for patients to untie. Disposables were reportedly preferred by many patients because they could just rip them off and throw the gown away.”

Encompass came up with a gown that ties on the side, enabling patients to more easily take it off and making the garment more acceptable for isolation applications, according to Coble.

Space Coast Hospital Services provides linen management support in each hospital in areas of linen utilization and educational programs. It also partners with Encompass, which provides customers with a linen-management tracking tool to pinpoint cost and usage by user area.

Pam Perdicaro, Carey’s service manager, reaches out to hospital clients to help them better understand laundry and linen operations, and how correct procedures can reduce their costs.

Quarterly hospital linen service director meetings and semi-annual on-site linen awareness programs emphasize training. “Nursing needs to understand that any additional linen left in a room has to be removed and sent back to the laundry for processing when the patient leaves,” Perdicaro says. “Storing additional items in a patient room just adds to their costs.”

There is improvement after the meetings and training, according to Perdicaro, but the laundry has found that regular reviews are needed to keep things fresh in everyone’s mind.

For example, the laundry learned that some certified nursing assistants were discarding soiled incontinent pads that could have been laundered. “They were throwing away the items that they thought were ‘too dirty,’” Perdicaro says.

“Another major area of linen cost that we manage is linen loss from transport,” Carey says. “We now provide specific EMT packs of linen for transporting patients leaving a hospital. The packs contain linen items needed, but they may have a small stain or tear that would keep them out of our standard linen inventory.”

It is an efficient way to utilize linen that would otherwise go to rag out, while in turn reducing clients’ linen losses, Carey says.

“Information and training saved one of our clients $350,000 over the last five years by reducing their pounds per adjusted patient day,” he says.

Staff is Key to Co-op Laundry’s Success

Carey credits his staff with initiatives to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Plant Operations Manager Ray Esche evaluated truck run and idle times to reduce diesel consumption.

“We used to have to keep our trucks idling during the unload process in order to power the lift gates,” Carey says. “We worked with our lift gate supplier to install remote lift-gate power outlets at the dock. Now, the lift gates work off electricity, allowing the diesel engines to shut down.”

Space Coast Hospital Services also installed governors on its delivery trucks to limit highway speeds to 68 mph. Fuel consumption reports show that transportation miles per gallon were increased by 14.5% for the truck fleet.

Kelley Desjardins, production manager, tracks daily plant processing production every day.

“We bonus our production employees for performance,” Desjardins says. “Once the plant performance threshold is met, the production employee needs to reach at least 98% of the production standard for any bonuses to kick in. Bonuses increase as pounds per operator hour increases for the entire plant.”

The plant, originally built in 1982, was expanded and upgraded with tunnel washer technology in the early ’90s. Two Milnor tunnel washers and four Chicago Dryer Co. finishing lines meet core production requirements.

Although designed for 15 million pounds per year on a single shift five days a week, economic conditions have reduced processing requirements.

“In order to reduce operating costs and still keep our people working, we went to four production days, eliminating Wednesday linen processing,” Carey says. “Office, maintenance, and delivery still operate five days per week.”

Thirty-one of 67 employees have worked at Space Coast for more than 10 years. “Our people are the key to our success, and employee retention is very important to us,” Carey says.

He remains positive about the future. “We are well positioned for additional business. We will continue to be a high-quality linen service and will always stay committed to our mission of providing the best service and quality product at the lowest possible cost.”

Click here for Part 1.

WICHITA, Kan. — Linen King, an Oklahoma-based textile rental services company that provides commercial laundry services to the healthcare and hospitality industries, recently acquired Via Christi Hospital’s Laundry, an off-premise laundry facility here.

With approximately 20,000 square feet in space, the facility has the immediate capacity to process more than 15 million pounds of laundry each year. This is Linen King’s fifth dedicated healthcare facility in the south-central United States.

The new facility will allow the company to streamline operations and service its Wichita area customers, while freeing up capacity in the company’s Oklahoma facility.

Linen King will work to build up the base volume of the long-term contract with Via Christi Hospitals that was part of the purchase.

Linen King partnered with Clairvest Group, a Toronto-based private equity firm, to acquire the healthcare laundry.

“The purchase of the Via Christi facility represents a significant milestone for our company and is expected to generate immediate value,” says Linen King CEO Leonard McCullough. “The new facility increases our capacity and allows Linen King to expand its presence into new markets.”

The company operates five facilities across four states and annually processes more than 50 million pounds of laundry.
 

FAIRWAY, Kan. — In an effort to shed light on what hospitals want from their laundry providers (and, in doing so, provide intelligence to help providers meet healthcare client needs and expectations in 2012), a 360-degree review on the subject was in order.

In addition to interviews with environmental service (EVS) managers and nurses at a dozen hospitals across the country, about two dozen laundry operators were surveyed and interviewed.

While the nature of this review is anecdotal (i.e., not a scientific study), the feedback gathered resonates true.

What Laundry Operators Think They Want

Based on a survey of operators representing all sizes and types of laundry operations, they say hospitals want (in order of importance):

• On-time delivery and sufficient inventory
• Responsiveness to client needs and requests
• Good-quality products
• Competitive prices
• HLAC accreditation

While operators ranked HLAC accreditation low as a customer priority, most agree this is changing as more and more laundries become accredited.

The primary complaints received from clients are (in order of frequency):

• Costs too high
• Stains and tears on items
• Insufficient inventory
• Poor quality
• Lost or missing goods

There were many operator complaints about clients not taking the time to communicate needs, to understand pricing issues, or to participate in inventory control and loss programs.

Of those surveyed, 71% provide service on a rental basis, with the remaining 29% providing a combination of rental and customer-owned goods (COG). Ninety-three percent of all respondents provide clients education on linen use and control; 86% provide inventory management programs.

What Hospital EVS Managers Say

While some EVS managers might not rank having its laundry HLAC-accredited top of the list, it is a must-have criteria for others. “Our laundry provides excellent service and works closely with me and my administrator on any issues that arise,” says Kent Miller, CHESP, director of environmental services for Jackson Hospital & Clinic in Montgomery, Ala.

“I believe a healthcare laundry should be HLAC-accredited,” adds Miller, who is also president of the Association of the Healthcare Environment (AHE), an HLAC founder. “My laundry provider is accredited, and they made sure I received a copy of the accreditation certificate.”

When asked how their laundry provider could improve its service, EVS managers say they need:

• Better-quality goods/fewer stains
• Better communication on product changes and service options
• Help in enforcing appropriate linen usage among staff/controlling losses
• Training programs for staff in each unit (along with spot audits)

When asked what their laundry provider does right, EVS managers stated:

• On-time delivery
• Responsive to requests
• Good fill rates

Overall, the EVS managers interviewed were happy with their laundry providers. Those happiest with their service have a close relationship with a customer service representative from the laundry.

But one issue remains difficult to resolve.

“I have great laundry service, but the biggest gripe I get from staff is about stains on linen, especially on our knit sheets,” says Wes Thiss, CHESP, EVS director at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, Va. “I realize that part of the stain issue is our fault. The iodine cleanser commonly used in hospitals stains terribly. But the perception among staff is that if there is a stain, it’s not clean.”

The Nursing Perspective

Nurses want the linen they need right now. “If it has hair or a stain on it, we put it straight in the soil bin,” says RN Copp.

In general, nurses say they need:

• Clean linen without stains, tears or holes
• Patient gowns with snaps that work
• An adequate supply of items
• A better understanding of their needs (listen to what they say and follow through!)
• An appointed hospital linen liaison or advocate for each unit

A survey taken of 42 nurses during a Practice Greenhealth webinar¹ in February 2011 revealed that 40% rated their laundry service as “good,” 30% rated it as “fair,” 20% rated it as “poor,” and only 10% rated their laundry service as “great.”

“In my 17 years as an RN and administrator, I have observed that most linen services do a decent job,” says Brenda Willis, RN, Tonganoxie, Kan. “But if there is no one appointed on the unit floor to oversee linen use and advocate on behalf of the laundry, there are more problems and greater linen losses.”

One nurse noted that staff hated getting patient gowns with snaps that didn’t snap. Because the perception was that gowns with broken snaps kept being returned to them, nurses started throwing them away.

“The most common mistake operators make in serving hospitals is not communicating sufficiently with hospital staff,” says Deborah Lark, COO of Portland Hospital Services Corp., Portland, Ore. “It’s critical to communicate with and educate end-users about linen and the laundry operation.

“Unless we educate the end-user, there is a tendency for clients to take linen for granted. Hospital staff can wind up making assumptions about the laundry operation that result in unrealistic expectations.”

The Challenge — Will You Meet It In 2012?

Does your laundry operation have customer service reps that regularly visit with the client contact and floor staff?

Do you provide training for staff on appropriate linen usage?

Do you insist that each hospital unit have an appointed linen advocate?

The successful execution of these tactics can make the difference between happy customers and your profitability in 2012.

But Thiss acknowledges that it’s hard to get nurses to participate in any type of linen committee. “We need help getting our nurses to want to participate in training and committee work.”

“The most important thing hospital staff can do is be open-minded and willing to form quality and linen committees that can then set realistic goals and par levels,” says Kelly Jefferson, vice president of customer support services for Reino Linen Service, Gibsonburg, Ohio. “We also need to coax staff to talk openly about fill rates and returns.

“Until you have a true relationship and partnership established between the laundry and end-users, there will always be questions of fill rates, quality, costs and customer satisfaction.”

Click here for Part 1.