You are here

Board Member Introduces Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC), a nonprofit organization formed for the purpose of inspecting and accrediting laundries responsible for processing textiles for hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities.
The concept for HLAC originated from within the Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA) several years ago. TRSA’s goal was to assemble a task force comprised of healthcare laundry professionals from all facets of the industry for the purpose of developing standards for the processing of healthcare textiles. Their vision was to form a distinct and separate entity responsible for refining these standards and implementing an accreditation process.
That vision became a reality in July 2005, with the incorporation of the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council. The HLAC does not have members and does not compete with existing membership organizations.
Instead, the Council is comprised of an outstanding board of directors, all of whom serve on a voluntary basis, and includes representatives from these national associations: American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES), National Association of Institutional Linen Management (NAILM), American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA), International Association for Hospital Textile Management (IAHTM), Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and TRSA. Representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also sit on the board.
The balance of the board is top executives of commercial, co-op and in-house laundries that process healthcare textiles.
A key focus from the beginning has been to develop high standards for processing textiles used in healthcare facilities, and to demonstrate that the industry is committed to these high standards without needing a mandate from local, state or national government organizations.
HLAC provides both the performance standards and the inspection and accreditation process necessary to demonstrate this commitment. Although the program is entirely voluntary, our board expects that leading healthcare laundries will be interested in participating.
Since last July, the HLAC board has formed various committees to review and revise the original draft of the standards, to develop an inspection checklist, establish inspection fees, and to test the validity and operational practicality of the draft standards.
At the time of this writing, the draft standards are posted on the HLAC Web site and are open for a public comment period, which will end March 31. Simultaneously, interviews have been conducted with individuals with extensive textile processing experience to serve as HLAC inspectors. By the time HLAC conducts its first “live” inspections in late April or early May, our standards, our inspection process and our inspectors will all be ready to go.
ASHES is honored to have a seat at the table with this committed assembly of professionals and will continue to support a professional, balanced and voluntary accreditation process that provides the healthcare textile processing industry – whether OPLs, co-ops or contracted outside services – the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the patients and institutions they serve.
Thank you for the opportunity to share the HLAC vision and mission with your readers. For additional information, a list of supporting organizations and the draft standards, visit www.hlacnet.org.Patti CostelloExecutive DirectorAmerican Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES)Chicago, Ill.
 

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].