MISSION STATEMENT
To assist our customers to effectively and efficiently manage linen resources and costs, while maintaining quality patient care and comfort.
Procedures:
The Consolidated Laundry follows Standard Precautions if you would like to view the Standard Precautions, please open the following Word document. precaution.doc (30KB)
The following is the current order form available for download in an MS Excel format orderform.xls (21KB).
If you are a Group Health Cooperative representative, please place your order either by faxing the order form or using Group Health's web site order form at: http://incontext.ghc.org/asd/forms/laundry.html
Please fill in your information and fax to: 206-521-1742. If you have any questions please call Michelle Goldberg at 206-521-1740.
Due to on-going and significant losses of hospital linen to patient transport providers, the following Policy was implemented by 32 hospitals between Bellingham and Olympia on October 1, 1998.
Our co-op laundry system loses substantial amounts in linen each year due to ambulance transfers. This new policy will help reduce our linen use and replacement costs.
When you have a patient transfer via ambulance or cabulance, make sure our linen stays where it belongs - in the hospital.
Ambulance and cabulance companies must now provide all of their own linen.
The following is the "Outside Agency Linen Policy" dated and signed by all parties into effectiveness on October 1, 1998.
"Due to on-going and significant losses of hospital linen to patient transport providers, the following Policy will be implemented by the undersigned hospitals, effective October 1, 1998.
Upon implementation of this Policy, private/for-profit ambulances and patient transport services will no longer be allowed to take linen of any kind from the hospitals of the Puget Sound region listed. The date for implementation for public agency and not-for-profit transport service is yet to be determined. the list of patient transport services covered by this policy shall include all commercial EMS/ambulance services, all commercial wheelchair/taxi services and all commercial patient transport services, such as:
American Medical Response Stat Ambulance
Rural Metro Ambulance
Tri-Med Ambulance
King Country Ambulance
Olympic Ambulance Co.
All private/for private ambulance and patient transport organizations will be expected to provide their own disposable or reusable linen, including sheets, blankets, towels, pillows, pillow cases and all other linen they may require to transport patients or clean vehicles and equipment. Linen exchanges will no longer be allowed.
Should any transport company choose to purchase and use their own reusable linen, they will be solely responsible for the laundering and replacement of their linen. Should same reusable linen be put in a hospital soiled linen hamper, the hospital shall have no obligation or liability to return the laundered linen to the transport organization. Taking linen from a hospital to replace soiled transport linen or for any other reason will no longer be acceptable or appropriate.
All outside agencies will be responsible for educating their staff regarding this linen policy. Any outside agency personnel observed taking linen from a hospital, which is not their agency's property, shall result in the employee (s) being reported to their agency for corrective action, including the expected reimbursement of all linen taken.
Your cooperation in enforcing this policy is greatly appreciated as we work together to reduce our cost of providing healthcare services. Thank you.
The following hospitals and their affiliates in the Puget Sound region hereby support and endorse this linen policy:
Providence General Medical Center, Everett Colby and Pacific Campuses
Northwest Hospital, Seattle
Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center, Seattle
Providence Seattle Medical Center, Seattle
Swedish Medical Center, Seattle
St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma
St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle
Stevens Healthcare, Edmonds
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
Evergreen Hospital Medical Center
Overlake Medical Center, Bellevue
Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle
Swedish Medical Center, Ballard
St. Francis Community Hospital, Federal Way
University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle
Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Hospitals and Area Medical Centers
VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle & American Lake Division
Providence St. Peter's Hospital, Olympia
Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup
Highline Community Hospital & Specialty Center, Burien & Tukwila
Multicare Health System, Tacoma
Allenmore Medical Center, Tacoma
Capital Medical Center, Olympia
Tacoma General, Tacoma
Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, Tacoma
AMBULANCE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The following ambulance/patient transport companies acknowledge receipt of this policy and agree to educate their staff, provide alternatives to hospital linen, and implement this policy.
American Medical Response
King County Ambulance
Tri-Med Ambulance
Rural/Metro Ambulance
STAT Ambulance"
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Pillows are purchased by and belong to the hospital.
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Pillows should be marked with the hospital logo.
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All soiled pillows should either be cleaned in the patients room and remain on the bed or go to the soiled utility room.
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Please have housekeeping clean and place the extra pillows in the clean pillow storage area, not in the soiled laundry.
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Please do not release to ambulance transport, they should be providing their own linen and pillows.
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Keep only the number of pillows a patient needs in their room.
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Do not send pillows home with patients.
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All extra pillows should go to the linen room.
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A pillow policy establishing acceptable inspection criteria should be established by each hospital. This should include guidelines for inspecting and discarding soiled and worn pillows.
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All damaged linen should be returned to the laundry with the regular soiled linen. The Laundry will inspect the item to determine if it is possible to mend the item or if it is necessary to discard the item.
Consolidated Laundry cooperative members have agreed to use the following "Linen Inspection Criteria" for minimum quality standards. The following document lists each linen inventory item and the minimum standard for that item. lincrit.doc (18KB)
The soiled linen is picked up from each hospital and taken to Consolidated Laundry in the Rainier Valley.
Soiled and clean linen are kept on separate floors.
It is then sorted by article type in the Laundry's soil sorting room. This is important because each item will then be washed in a special formula determined for the kind of fabric, weight, and use of that article.
All linen washing formulas are tested to provide the user with a perfect "ph" balance of human skin. We monitor and test the washing formulas several times per day.
Soiled linen is loaded into "pockets" on a "tunnel" washer from the second floor. From there it is transported inside a tunnel, where the appropriate water, chemicals and mechanical action take place.
The "load" of laundry is (approx. 100 pounds, depending on the item), at the end of an extended wash cycle the material is extracted and compressed into a pancake the size of a semi-truck tire and placed on a conveyor. Two pancakes are then placed into a dryer for approximately 20 minutes.
The dry laundry is then dumped and loaded into carts and moved into the appropriate finishing area (rough dry, flat work or the pack room).
When the laundry has been finished, it is then placed in carts ready for shipment.
To Our Patients:
This hospital is working to conserve water, natural gas and electricity. As part of this effort, your bed linen will be changed every other day. However, patient care and comfort remains our highest priority.
So, if you wish to have your linen changed more frequently, please let your caregiver know.
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Scrub suits are only to be worn in authorized areas of the hospital and are to remain on the hospital premises.
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Storage of clean linen in the patient rooms, is highly discouraged because when the patient leaves, these items are regarded as soiled linen and must be processed again by the Laundry.
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Torn, stained or unacceptable linens, should be placed in the "soiled linen" bags and returned to the Laundry for disposition.
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Patient items, equipment, trash or any other foreign objects are to be removed from the soiled linen prior to bagging. This will minimize the amount of needle stick occurrences at the Laundry, and will also ensure adequate disposal of hazardous waste.
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Pillows should be used to position patients, instead of blankets.
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Borrowing linen from another unit is discouraged in order to maintain par stock on each unit.
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Sleeves of patient gowns should not be cut in order to change an IV.
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Bath towels, washcloths, or any other piece of patient linen should not be used to clean up spills; rags are available for this use!
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Bath towels should not be used as floor mats outside the tub or shower area.
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Pillowcases used to cover props, should only be changed if visibly soiled.
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Linen items such as towels, blankets, etc., should not be used as props.
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Flat sheets should be placed on top of thermal blankets or spreads to provide optimal warmth for the patient.
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Linen should never be offered to the patient when they are being discharged. If possible, the nurse should offer to help pack the patient's suitcase to ensure no linen is leaving with the patient.
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Housekeeping should use rags for clean up; washcloths should not be put on their carts. The rags are dyed blue for proper identification.
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All linen, regardless of whether it's a rag or a piece of patient linen, must not be thrown away by hospital personnel. All soiled linen must be returned to the Laundry. If this procedure is followed, the potential for outgoing linen theft, will be minimized. If a stain is unable to be removed, the Laundry will "rag out" the item.
Linen Awareness Day-Contact Carol O'Hara at 206-521-1740 or cell phone 206-669-5988 to discuss possible dates and ideas.
Linen Challenges (Puzzles)-Print the following MS Word file and learn more about linen or contact Carol O'Hara to customize for your specific needs. hmcawareness.doc (194KB)
Laundry Tours-Contact the laundry at 206-521-1740 to set up a time for a tour.
Scrub Amnesty Day/Week
Scrub Dispenser
