Greatest Challenges Facing Medical Laundry

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Medical linen management is a balancing act. Between meeting supply demands and keeping the costs down without compromising safety, it’s easy to see why healthcare laundry is challenging. But what, exactly, are the greatest challenges facing medical laundry?

Greatest Challenges Facing Medical Laundry

Big hospitals. Small clinics. Single-treatment centers. Polyclinics. Size rarely matters when it comes to the greatest challenges facing medical laundry. Even the best equipped of them all struggle in the following areas:

Cost

Medical laundry is expensive. It might even be more expensive than other types of commercial laundry services. The specialized handling process – from bagging used linens to the laundry process itself – can rack up in cost. And without effective strategies, any cost-cutting effort can turn into an infection control disaster. The cost of medical laundry is further exacerbated by the constant threat of healthcare linen loss.

Cleanliness and Infection Control

Healthcare facilities, though exemplars of hygiene, are under a constant barrage of infection hazards. Linens and garments are among the most vulnerable avenues for the spread of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs). It only takes the smallest of mistakes to breach and jeopardize cross-contamination protocols. Safeguarding linen handling practices against these threats is an everyday battle that healthcare facilities of all sizes tackle.

Sustainability

Commercial and industrial laundry is notorious for being unsustainable. And the reputation is, sadly, not always unfair. Most hospital laundry practices in existence have excessive impacts on the environment – including high energy and water consumption, water disposal, and carbon emissions among others. 

For so long, these processes have been deemed excusable, because they are crucial in the linen disinfection process. But there is a rising consciousness in healthcare facilities’ environmental impact. It has become a focal challenge to find the balance between hygiene and sustainability.

Meeting Patient Demands

Keeping up with the demand for linens is a constant challenge for any facility. After all, these numbers fluctuate a lot. Hospital laundry processes are always walking the tightrope of processing linens as fast as possible, while making sure they are up to standard. In any healthcare facility, linen shortage is an imminent threat, always waiting for the first surge of patient numbers.

The Support That Every Healthcare Laundry Needs

Through all the challenges that come with healthcare laundry, on-premise laundry facilities are hardly the best solution. Not only are they costlier, but they are also a management nightmare. This includes the added burdens of human resource management, space efficiency issues, and equipment servicing among other things.

That is why the best solution for the greatest challenges of healthcare laundry is outsourcing medical linen service. With a trusted healthcare laundry specialist, like HandCraft, you can expect:

  • Streamlined healthcare laundry processing from pickup to delivery.
  • Effort-free cost-cutting measures that don’t jeopardize the quality and quantity of your linens.
  • The guarantee of safe, Hygienically Clean healthcare linens and garments.
  • Eco-friendly, sustainable laundry.
  • Flexible inventory to keep up with fluctuating demands
  • Hassle-free compliance with industry standards

Interested? Contact HandCraft Today! 

Make the better, cleaner, more effective choice today! Start your medical linen service with HandCraft Healthcare Linen and Uniform Specialists today. Call us at (888) 358-8671 to speak with a consultant or to request a free price quote!