The Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) will exhibit (booth 935) at the AORN Surgical Conference & Expo being held March 7-11, 2015 in Denver.
"This is an important conference for HLAC because it gives us an opportunity to showcase the difference our standards can make when part of a multimodal process to provide safer surgical suites," says Gregory Gicewicz, president of HLAC, which inspects and accredits laundries processing healthcare textiles for hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities.
HLAC's standards document, which covers the complete textile processing cycle for use in healthcare facilities, is a recipient of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) AORN Seal of Recognition™. At the conference, HLAC will be featured in a special area designated specifically for the small group of organizations that have achieved this recognition.
The AORN Seal of Recognition confirms that the content of the HLAC document, "Accreditation Standards for Processing Reusable Textiles for Use in Healthcare Facilities 2011 Edition (currently being revised)" has undergone thorough review by AORN and meets the guidelines of the "AORN Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices."
Recently, an HLAC-accredited laundry, Logan's Healthcare Linen and Uniform Rental of Shelbyville, Ky., was brought in as part of a multimodal initiative at Clark Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Winchester, Ky., to prevent transmission of OR infections. The initiative aligns the efforts of Logan's; UMF Corporation, a Chicago-based innovator of infection prevention products, service and training; and CRMC's Environmental Services (ES) staff responsible for OR processing.
"Enlightened management at leading hospitals has recognized that their healthcare laundry needs to be part of their infection prevention strategy," Gicewicz says. "Knowing their laundry has been accredited by HLAC -- and that HLAC's standards have been nationally recognized by AORN -- provides a significant level of excellence that other laundries simply cannot demonstrate."
The HLAC Accreditation Standards are established as the minimum acceptable practice for the preparation of hygienically clean, reusable healthcare textiles for patient care, implemented and executed by accredited laundry facilities processing reusable healthcare textiles. The document covers the complete textile processing cycle: from handling and transporting to laundering and finishing to customer service. Special attention has been directed to laundry processes directly related to patient safety and OSHA required practices, including Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Standards.
Source: Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC)
