LAS VEGAS — The American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA), in celebration of its 25th anniversary, announced plans this morning during its member breakfast to host another two-day, hands-on seminar next spring on medical textiles.
Durham, N.C., will be the site of the seminar that’s been tentatively scheduled for April 30 and May 1. The event, ARTA’s second such seminar, is to be held in conjunction with North Carolina State University.
While the focus of ARTA’s 2006 seminar was on processing and marketing, the 2008 seminar will go deeper into the details and specifics of running a successful healthcare laundry, with a special focus on the role of textiles during surgical intervention and how to develop a successful pack-room operation.
Sessions will be geared to meet the needs of both novice and experienced operators. ARTA presented a seminar outline and will develop the final program this fall based on member input.
Some possible seminar topics are the various roles of the operating room staff, the tables and equipment used, surgical outcomes and infection control, the set-up and use of textiles during an open-heart case, how reusable and single-use textiles are manufactured and how they perform, and balancing quality requirements and productivity needs when laundering.
Association members also paid a special tribute to William “Bill” Carroll, who retired from ARTA last year. He was a board member in 1986-2000 and executive director in 2000-2006.
Laundry management was a second career for Carroll, who retired from the Air Force in 1975. He worked in laundry operations for Emory University and for Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta before retiring from Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Medical Center in 1996.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].