ALEXANDRIA, Va. — May 7, 2021, 2021 — Economy Linen and Towel Service’s Zanesville, Ohio laundry has achieved Hygienically Clean Healthcare recertification. This renewal reflects the Dayton, Ohio-based company’s commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing. The Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation.
Economy Linen’s Dayton laundry is also Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified. With these two processing facilities and distribution centers in Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis, the company is an acknowledged regional market leader in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia. Medical customers recognize Economy Linen’s commitment to combine the state-of-the-art facilities and services expected from a national firm with the personal service, integrity, and value of a family-owned company. Clients are provided with proprietary software to help track and manage their inventory. Company personnel meet with them each month to discuss their textile use, facilitating customization and improvement of their medical linen programs.
independent, third-party inspection of laundries that are prospects for Hygienically Clean certification and recertification confirm essential evidence that:
- Employees are properly trained and protected
- Managers understand regulatory requirements
- OSHA-compliant
- Physical plant operates effectively
To achieve certification initially, laundries pass inspection plus three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and diminished presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. They also must pass a facility inspection. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.
This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.
Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations by verifying quality control procedures in linen, uniform and facility services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.
Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.
Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.
“Congratulations to Economy Linen on their recertification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry takes every step possible to prevent human illness.”
Posted May 7, 2021
Source: TRSA
