The Importance of Quality Medical Linen Management
There are some misconceptions surrounding what comprises adequate healthcare linen service. Some think supplying clean items is all it takes. Sure, hygiene and safety are the most important, but they’re also the bare minimum. Your medical linen service provider should deliver more than that. Medical linen management a vitally important consideration.
Why Quality Medical Linen Management Is Important
Relative to the complexity and nuance of medicine, medical linens and their care are simple and straightforward. Yet, unless the material quality and their care are of a high caliber, your efforts to heal patients can be easily compromised. For example, bad linen management can literally stop hospital operations!Quality linen management makes sure you get quantity and balance in your medical facility’s linen supply. The right service provider brings solutions not only for linen maintenance, but eases the hassles that come with managing linen supply. After all, there’s a lot to do with linen management:
Keep linen supplies appropriately filled - not too little, not too much
Make sure every piece is up to high cleanliness standards
Monitor linen movement throughout the facility
Make sure they’re going to the right places at the right times
Ensure they’re all accounted for before shipping off for cleaning
Ensuring proper count when they arrive
Doing it all over again
It’s a lot to do. But still, the idea that linens are linens and caring for them is easy persists. To illustrate not only difficulty, but the necessity of competent management, let’s look at the dangers of poor linen management.
The Dangers of Inadequate Service Providers
Poor linen management, especially involving a third-party, can lead to problems that heavily impact your operations and patient care. When you work with an unreliable, unproven service provider, you risk the following:
Supply Inconsistencies and Shortages
Linen shortages can wreak havoc in your operations, budget, and patient care. For instance, this Canadian hospital experienced massive interruptions in their overall operations due to the alleged incompetence of their healthcare linen service provider. This is the exact scenario that you need to prevent in your own facility. The measure of a good service provider goes beyond the capacity to provide clean medical linens. You need one who goes beyond pickup and delivery, but focuses on your facility’s unique needs. They should keep track of these needs, be flexible enough to accommodate them, and make sure you get your supplies - no delays, no excuses.
Linen Loss
Linen loss is easily one of the costliest but most common problems in the healthcare industry. It has been found that the US healthcare industry loses over $800 million per year over linen loss. In the same study, it was found that staff and patients are equally to blame for linen loss. Many patients take home linens (either deliberately or by accident), and employees prematurely dispose of linens because of improper labeling. Medical linens and garments also get lost during handling between facilities, further exacerbating the problem on linen loss. Your facility needs a healthcare linen service partner whose operations come equipped with linen loss safeguards.
Poor Supply Quality
One of the biggest dangers that come with trusting the wrong linen service provider is getting supplies of unsatisfactory quality. They cause delays, require untimely repairs and costly replacements, and they affect your patients’ satisfaction and experience with your facility.
Falling for the Wrong Service Provider is Costly. Let FDR Services Help
They will cost you money, time, effort, peace of mind, and patients. Don’t make that mistake. Utilize a linen service provider that specializes in healthcare linen maintenance and supply and has professional experience in linen management.Contact FDR Services today! Our specialty healthcare laundry specialist team is more than ready to accommodate your healthcare linen service needs and more. Call us today at 1-800-FDR-0097 to speak with a consultant, inquire about product availability or request a price quote!