Here’s why medical workers should keep scrubs contained to the hospital, clinic, or other medical facility: 

Dangers to the Medical Worker

It’s easy to feel comfortable when it’s time to leave work. When an employee goes through the exit, more of their job is with them than they want to think about. The longer their clothes from work are on their body, the longer they’re exposing themselves to those dangers. All it takes is a touch and a forgetful eye rub to introduce dangerous microbes. 

Dangers to the Medical Worker’s Family

If the scrubs that protected a medical worker all day are coming home with them at night, it’s impossible to leave work at the door. Depending on the kind of environment a medical worker is in, they could be taking home some dangerous guests. Bacteria, harmful microbes, and viruses are all too common, and all too resilient in the fibers of clothing. 

Home laundromats are not equipped with the cleaning agents or temperatures needed to properly clean medical scrubs. Without those means available, those harmful microbes aren’t killed. If sharing a load with other clothing items or towels, there’s a chance those microbes are going to spread. 

Dangers to the Public 

Though it’s unlikely that the public comes into contact with scrubs that are being worn post-shift, it’s not impossible. If a counter is leaned on, a door pushed open with a shoulder, a shirt used to open a bathroom handle – that’s a possible point of transmission. It’s difficult to account for every variable that could arise in public, but the possibilities are certain. 

Dangers to the Patients 

Perhaps the most vulnerable people to scrubs worn outside the medical facility are those inside the facility. When working with sick people, compromised immune systems, wounds, or other injuries, risk of infection is never too far away. If the scrubs that were worn outside, for lunch or to run errands, comes back in, it’s bringing with it every thing it encountered. If somebody in line sneezes or coughs in your direction, whatever is in it could stick to your scrubs. That’s exposure to foreign agents that might cause unnecessary complications. 

How to Keep Scrubs Clean, Safe, and Ready

Work in the medical field is also some of the most dangerous work around. It doesn’t need to be made more dangerous due to unsafe scrub maintenance procedures. To ensure that your medical facility, employees, patients, and the public are protected, institute a uniform program. Through a quality provider like Medico Linen, your medical facility’s uniforms will always be clean and ready. 

Call Medico Healthcare Linen Services Today

Above all, safety is the most important aspect of any medical operation. If you’re ready to embrace certainty and confidence in your medical facility’s scrubs, give Medico a call at (800) 464-6334. Contact us here for more information! 

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Though only 1% of needle injuries that happen every year nationwide occur in laundry facilities, that’s still between 1,250 to 1,700 incidents annually. HIV and Hepatitis top the list of likely transmissions during an accident, so it’s best to be as cautious and prepared as possible.

Sharps Prevention

Though unintentional, sharps can show up in medical laundry. Injuries from sharps left in soiled linens are a leading cause of injury in the medical laundry industry. Prevention training is vital to limit your employees’ exposure to infectious diseases. 

Here is how you can protect your staff:

Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

There’s no substitute for the basics. PPE in your medical laundry facility should take the form of gloves, gowns, lab coats, face shields or masks. This is a necessity in the soiled side, or intake part of your business, but might be extended to the “clean side” if the need arises.

Have No-Touch Methods of Sharp Removal

The soil side of your linen laundry facility is the most at risk for sharps exposure. Employees are tasked with removing them when found, and need to do so safely. 

Here are two safe methods of sharp removal:

• Metal on Metal: Use grasping devices when pulling sharps from linen or uniforms. Never use an ungloved hand. 

• Shake and Separate: Though shaking of soiled linen isn’t usually recommended, if a sharp is present and unyielding to grasping efforts, gently shaking the attached linen will loosen the sharp.

Have Sharp Containers Available 

Sharps can appear at any time, and you need to have a place to dispose of them. Sharps containers are puncture-proof, water-tight, and easily identifiable. 

Cultivate a Safety Culture

Training and educating your employees is essential in order to keep them safe. The CDC has suggestions for influencing employee attitudes and behavior permanently. 

1. Make visible safety-related statements. 

Safety comes first, and visual reminders throughout your facility will serve as constant reminders.

• Prioritize safety committees. It’s easy to brush off groups responsible for overseeing safety protocols if they have no bite. Giving authority or integrating leadership into the safety committee will generate more concern over their activities and conclusions. 
• Establish specific action plans. Having observable protocols and procedures in place for when something does go wrong for specific departments makes your safety efforts more effective. 

2. Involve personnel from various departments.

One department pushing its will onto others will find resentment instead of adherence for their efforts. Including members from all sectors of your business will make the effort more integrated and effective.

3. Encourage reporting and documentation of found sharps.

Your employees should document when they encounter a sharp. There are many reasons for this documentation, and your employee should know that these efforts are to ultimately safeguard them from future exposure. Some reasons include: 

• Source Tracing. If there is a timing or linen similarity to the presence of sharps, then it might not take much to piece together which department is responsible. 
• Company Safety. Any hazardous material or situation needs to be documented and addressed. With enough information, decisions can be made as to how to best deal with the issues.

Medico Is Your Safe, Professional Medical Linen Service

If you’re looking for a reliable medical linen service with the experience and industry know-how to deliver clean, sharp-free linens every time, trust Medico Linen Service.

Between our HLAC certification and our clean green  laundry process, there’s no question as to whether you’re making the right choice. Above all, we strive for your total satisfaction. Call us today at 800.464.6334 and ask about a free quote.

The post How to Keep Sharps Out of Your Medical Linen appeared first on Medico Healthcare Linen Service.

If this is the case, your employees and patients are at an increased risk of slips and falls, infection, and burnout. Consider the following reasons to install clean and secure mats in your medical facility:

Safety

Because cleanliness and easy mobility is vital for any hospital or clinic, its floors are usually smooth. Non-grouted, untextured floors allow the wheels of beds, carts, and equipment to easily and safely move from location to location without jostling or struggle. It also allows for simple and effective cleaning of floors with no need of scrubbing grouting or other joining substances between tiles. 

An unfortunate cost of this smoothness is the increased likelihood of slip and fall accidents. 

With hundreds of different substances that can end up on the floor of a hospital or clinic at any time, having traction with quality, clean mats in areas that need it can save you and your staff injuries and headaches. 

Though a bare floor is dangerous, old, dirty, or cheap mats can present more problems than solutions. Even after vacuuming, old mats are easily overwhelmed by foot traffic and their tamped-down fibers don’t prevent dirt from reaching your floor. Cheap mats can become a dangerous tripping hazard if they start to crack and curl.

High traffic, spill/wetness volatile areas include: 

• Entrances
• Lobbies
• Kitchens
• Loading Docks
• Patient Intakes

Cleanliness

Cleanliness is a fundamental quality in efficient healing. If the environment your patients are to get better in has invisible dangers floating and sticking around, they’ll be sicker longer. This means more costs, more time, and a dwindling of your reputation as an efficient healthcare facility. 

Take control of your public standing by controlling the dirt and microbes that try to get into your clinic or hospital. Specialized mats can help. 

• Scraper Mats placed outside and inside building entrances will trap and hold dirt and debris. The microbe-laden gunk is kept inside the mat until it’s cleaned or replaced. 
• Entrance Mats will hold and hide dirt tracked in beyond scraper mats and keep unsightly smudges from appearing on your floor. 
• Absorbent Pads/Mats specialize in retaining and liquid and can be especially useful in the O.R. and treatment rooms.

Burnout (Prevent Exhaustion) 

With doctors and surgeons experiencing burnout at startling rates, it’s never been more important to keep them feeling as good for as long as possible. A way to help is to take pressure off their joints and muscle groups affected by all-day standing with anti-fatigue mats. Even nurses and attendants can benefit from soft hospital floor mats placed at strategic locations where they can get take a breather from the hustle and bustle of their demanding jobs.

Medico is Here to Help 

Medical facilities aren’t the place to mess around with any potential danger. Slippery substances, malicious microbes, and extreme exhaustion are constant threats. Let Medico Professional Linen Service stay on top of them for you with the right stability, absorbent, and anti-fatigue mats. Call us today at (800) 464-6334 to learn more about our hassle-free mat services. 

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