With the retirement and inevitable aging of the baby boomer demographic, the long-term care industry is seeing the beginnings of a boom that will potentially last several decades. This is exciting news for the dedicated healthcare workers who specialize in long-term and elder care, but it does pose some issues for facility managers, who are having to plan and account for future growth. One area where they must place particular concern is in their choice of laundry services.
Client Perception
Although there are many aspects of care that patents and their family members will be concerned with when choosing long-term care options (and whether to stay with the option they chose), one of the most quickly visible aspects is the quality and cleanliness of the facility's linens, towels, and garments. Clients believe that it is a simple thing for a facility to provide fresh, clean, and new linens to each patient, so long-term facilities are forced to live up to that perception, even though it is not always the case.
The Pratfalls of In-House Laundry
Some facilities opt to perform all of their laundering needs themselves, maintaining an on-premises laundry center. However, when you add residents' personal items and personal laundry needs to your facility's overall linen need, it quickly becomes difficult to maintain an in-house laundry center. The manpower and machine availability needed for both personal items and general linen requirements can be overwhelming if you are not fully prepared.
Hiring a Laundry Service
Hiring a laundry service can make a long-term care facility manager's life significantly easier. True, you will still need machines and manpower to ensure that residents' personal clothing and items are washed and cared for if that is an on-site offering, but bedding, towels, gowns, uniforms and other linens can be taken care of outside of your facility by experts. Professional healthcare laundry services are fully equipped to take on cleaning and maintaining your linen supply, no matter the size of your facility is or your demand level.
Professional laundry services stay in business because they are able to meet the demands your patients and their family members have for your facility's linens. A healthcare laundry service will provide your facility with a rotating supply of expertly cleaned and sanitized linens to ensure that your patients and their families are pleased. They will also keep you and your employees happy because they scan each piece of bedding and linen when it comes in for cleaning to ensure that it is still functioning at the level of quality that your facility demands. Any item that does not meet inspection is replaced by the service, meaning you do not have to spend extra funds on constantly replacing and refreshing your linen supply.