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Hospitals Beginning to Specify HLAC Accreditation in Laundry Bids

FAIRWAY, Kan. — Hospitals are beginning to specify in bids for laundry services that providers be accredited by the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC), according to some accredited laundries that have monitored bid requests during the past six months.
“A year ago, you wouldn’t have seen a bid with language that ‘the awarded bidder will be HLAC-accredited,’” says Bob Pfeifer, district manager of Sodexo’s Eastern region. “And now the accreditation requirement is occurring with greater frequency in my region.”
Two of Sodexo’s plants are accredited, and the company is seeking accreditation for 10 other plants this year.
“The first bid stipulating that the selected laundry be HLAC-accredited came across my desk the first of the year,” says David Stern, president of Paris Companies. “I see this trend increasing as hospital executives become aware there is an accreditation body for healthcare laundries.
“I believe accreditation will become an industry standard.”
An independent third party inspects facilities that voluntarily seek the accreditation and determines if they meet or exceed HLAC’s high standards for processing healthcare textiles.
The accreditation process was developed with several industry groups, including the Association for Linen Management (ALM), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA), the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES), the International Association for Healthcare Textile Management (IAHTM) and the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA).
 

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