United States
Northwest Health Care Linen Service, a family-owned and operated full-service laundry and laundry healthcare company serving the Puget Sound area in western Washington, has recently qualified to renew its Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification.
The recertification reflects their continued commitment to best management washing practices (BMPs), verified through on-site inspections, and their ability to produce hygienically clean fabrics that have been quantified by ongoing microbial testing.
The Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification confirms the organization's continued commitment to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards, and processing of health textiles using BMPs, as described in the quality assurance documentation. This is a focus for the assessment of the Hygienically Clean inspectors. The independent third party inspection must also confirm material evidence that:
• The employees are trained and protected accordingly
• Managers understand the legal requirements
• OSHA compliant
• The physical system works effectively
To get certification first, laundries go through three rounds of results-based microbial tests that indicate that their processes produce hygienically clean health textiles and reduce the presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. You must also pass a system inspection. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly tests to ensure that changing laundry conditions such as water quality, fabric composition, and wash chemistry maintain the quality of the washed products. The review takes place every two to three years.
Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other health care professionals work with laundromats to ensure that certification continues to enforce the highest standards for the manufacture of clean textiles for healthcare. The Northwest Health Care Linen Service also has TRSA Clean Green certification for its environmental practices.
"Congratulations to the Northwest Health Care Linen Service on their recertification," said Joseph Ricci, President and CEO of TRSA. "This achievement shows their commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry is taking all possible steps to prevent human diseases."
