Healthcare linen turnover is a huge problem for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Often it runs as high as 90%. This amounts to over $840 million a year in losses for the healthcare industry. Imagine the savings this could represent for your facility.
Preventing Healthcare Linen Loss 101
You use linens all day every day to take care of your patients, dress your employees, and more. They’re an essential component of your daily services. Curbing the rate of loss will provide with significant savings. Get started with the following guide:
1) Inventory Audit
Perform an audit of all your linen inventory. Take note of the linens that are disappearing. Notice patterns over time. Plan on performing periodic audits to keep up with your linen inventory.
2) Identify Source of Loss
Once you see which linens are disappearing, figure out the reason. Are employees taking uniforms home to wash them and not bringing them back? Or are blankets and robes disappearing when patients leave? Try to understand what’s causing linens to disappear.
3) Educate Employees
Educate your employees on the cost of linens and how much you’re having to constantly replace. Provide training on how to determine if a linen should be discarded or simply cleaned and sanitized. Many healthcare facilities find linens are often discarded instead of cleaned. Make sure you have labeled bins for soiled linens and the procedures are clearly outlined and posted where they will be seen.
4) Educate Patients
Sometimes blankets, sheets, pillows and other linens are taken home with patients when they leave. Have your staff inform patients there is a fee for items they take home. Keep an inventory of linens provided to each patient and bill for anything that disappears.
5) Inventory Management
Implementing a good linen inventory management system is the best way to keep track of all your linens on an ongoing basis. You need a record of your linen use, cleaning, and discarding so you can easily perform audits. This is also the best way to know when linens disappear and identify why. A great option for managing linen inventory is through a linen management company that specializes in health care services.
Wilkins Helps Reduce Your Rate of Loss
Maintaining a healthcare facility is expensive, and even more so as of late. You can’t afford to constantly be losing linens. Wilkins Linen is your Houston area healthcare linen resource. We specialize in preventing healthcare linen loss for you while providing the highest quality linens and service. Contact Us for assistance with your medical linen management today.
