Airing the Dirty Laundry in Healthcare: A Factory Tour

Healthcare runs on clean laundry! No matter what the scenario ¦ whether treating a patient in the ER, on a Med-Surg unit or in an outpatient clinic, the patient care cannot be delivered without clean linen. From washcloths, sheets, or blankets, to surgical scrubs or patient gowns, the healthcare environment runs on clean linen.

Wash, Dry and Fold

The United Hospital Services laundry is one of the 10 largest healthcare laundry plants in the United States. The plant processes over 36 million pounds of clean linen for healthcare facilities in the state of Indiana. The cleaning and processing of linen for healthcare is a combination of science and production. It is the science of how to clean and process various articles of linen to ensure they are germ free, sparkly clean in appearance, comfortable to the touch guaranteeing the maximum life of the item. The production is like the production of any other factory with linen being the product being manufactured. Almost every step in the manufacturing process is automated, with a few processes remaining a by hand’ operation. Employees are measured on the quality of their product, along with the quantity produced by the hour.

This Ain’t Your Mom’s Laundry

Commercial healthcare laundry operations are not your mom’s laundry! The science involved, along with the production manufacturing, require absolute focus on efficiency and quality. The industry is extremely competitive, and even 1/4 of a cent per pound cost could make the difference in a contract for the plant.