How to Ensure Safe Medical Linens and Uniforms
Now more than ever, preventing cross-contamination of medical linens and garments is crucial. No matter the type and size of a medical facility, when lives are on the line, there is no room for mistakes. Above all, there’s no substitute for having access to safe medical linens and uniforms.
Here’s how to ensure that your patients stay safe from contamination:
Prevent Employees From Home-Washing Their Uniforms
Medical uniforms, clean or otherwise, should never leave a medical facility unless taken by a medical laundry service specialist. Studies show that bacteria and viruses can survive on fabrics like scrub suits and lab coats.
When employees take uniforms home, that exposes their family (and to some extent, the public) to pathogens their medical uniforms have picked up during their shift. On the other hand, freshly washed scrubs can make contact with pathogens in the home or public before arriving at work. As a result, patients become exposed to them.
Ensure Safe Medical Linens by Practicing Proper Handling of Soiled Linen
Soiled linen is not only potentially ridden with dangerous microbes, but they are a ticking time bomb of cross-contamination. Without strict protocols for handling and transporting soiled linens, they can contaminate surrounding surfaces, as this study confirms.
For example, linens exposeded to bodily fluids need containment during removal from the patient room. When transported to the laundry facility, they must not make contact with any surface – especially anywhere near clean linens. Protocols like this are one of the few barriers against pathogenic outbreak. As a result, on-site uniform service is one of the best ways to establish and maintain these barriers.
Package and Store Clean Linens Safely and Securely
The handling, packaging, and storage of clean healthcare linens are crucial in maintaining their safety. As these healthcare laundry guidelines from TRSA stress, contaminants can survive on many surfaces for days, and even weeks.
To prevent them from undermining your laundry’s integrity, they must be secured with dedicated storage. For example, this includes secure packaging, transport carts used solely for clean linens, and regimented sanitation procedures.
Work With a Reliable, Medical-Specialized Uniform Service Provider
Cleaning and managing linen inventory is a process all its own. Entire facilities and staff must be dedicated to the mission of cleanliness for consistent success. Staying on top of your materials and making sure that they’re clean and within budget is taxing. Working with a medical linen specialist like Medico is your best option to ensure stability of supply, cleanliness, and protection against contamination.
Medico Healthcare Linen Service
Medico Healthcare Linen Service is not your ordinary healthcare linen service provider. When it comes to their linen and garment needs, we specialize in providing the most comprehensive support for healthcare facilities.
With Medico Healthcare Linen, you can rest assured that your linens are:
- Transported in specific vehicles
- Handled by skilled, highly-trained professionals
- Laundered in a sanitary laundry facility that abide by the highest standards in healthcare linen cleanliness
- Processed in a Hygienically Clean-Certified and HLAC Accredited facility
- Tagged and tracked using bar codes to protect your inventory against losses and mix-ups
- Picked up and delivered on-time
Medico Healthcare Linen Service can bring you the quality, quantity and peace of mind that your healthcare facility deserves.
Contact Medico Today!
Contact Medico today to learn more about our services, product selection, or get a free quote. Call us at (800) 464-6334. We’ll get your medical linen and uniform needs taken care of.
