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Manufacturers of laundry technologies and detergents have made significant strides to improve processes. Advancements include savings in time, energy and water necessary to properly clean linens in healthcare facilities.
These advancements have resulted in newly signed legislation in California, which offers hospital environmental services operators flexibility in processing linens in lower wash temperatures and shortened wash time.
TRSA, an international organization representing companies that supply laundered garments, uniforms, linens, floor mats, towels and other products necessary for businesses to operate safe, clean facilities, was involved in the legislation. They released the following statement:
TRSA’s efforts to reform California’s Title 22 code, which regulates the laundering of healthcare linen, took the final step to passage when California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the legislation (AB 2679) into law. Gov. Brown signed the bill on Sept. 20.
“This bill is a great opportunity for the healthcare sector of the linen, uniform and facility services industry,” said Kevin Schwalb, TRSA’s vice president of government relations. “Operators will soon have flexibility in laundering healthcare linens. The final version allows for much quicker implementation of the flexibility than the original language.”
More specifically, the new law would, on or before Jan. 1, 2020, require each general acute care hospital and acute psychiatric hospital, including those facilities that use a medical laundry service provider, to adopt and implement a linen laundry processing policy that is consistent and in accordance with the most recent infection control guidelines and standards developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“Jan. 1, 2020, is the deadline for developing new laundering policies,” Schwalb said. “The sooner facilities can adopt new policies, the sooner operators will have flexibility in processing linens. This would not have occurred if it was not for those individuals that took time out of their schedules to attend the California Legislative Conference to tell the industry’s story.”