Review of Hygienically Clean Certification Finds Advantages for Healthcare Commercial Laundries

TRSA, a leading global textile services trade association, announces its Hygienically Clean certification program has been judged as adding to public health and providing business value to those certified commercial laundries, according to a technical and critical review.

The third-party assessment was conducted by David F. Goldsmith, MSPH, PhD,  an occupational and environmental epidemiologist with George Washington University’s Milliken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, D.C. TRSA commissioned Goldsmith to conduct the two-month review and report his findings.

In his review, Goldsmith noted there are no federal, state or other regulatory standards or performance regulations for microbiological testing of hospital or clinical linens. TRSA voluntarily created a set of performance standards in 2012 that include regular, independent, third-party testing to ensure the integrity of the findings.

“Hygienically Clean standards have a very large and positive impact on public health in general because they lower the overall community infectious disease risk burden,” says Goldsmith. “TRSA Certification offers a serious marketing advantage versus competitor laundries who have not adopted the Hygienically Clean process.”

According to TRSA, by Dec. 31, 2015, it expects approximately 50 percent of commercial laundries exclusively handling linens and other textiles from healthcare facilities will have earned its Hygienically Clean certification.

“For the commercial laundry industry, cleanliness is the backbone of the business,” notes TRSA president and CEO Joseph Ricci. “For those in the healthcare space, holding to a higher standard of cleanliness – in this case Hygienically Clean – isn’t just a competitive tactic, it’s of paramount importance to customers. That reassurance and level of care is critical in the medical environment and our members are leading on this issue.”

Source: TRSA