Caring for Patients and Staff by Caring for Healthcare Textiles
By John Scherberger , FAHE , CMIP , T-CHEST , T-CSCT , T-CNACC , VPEI
the U . S ., hospital expenses continually increase while
In reimbursements from state and federal governments , insurance companies and the privately insured are decreasing at an alarming rate . Hospitals are closing , reducing services , and requiring employees to tighten their belts and assume responsibility for expenses and infection prevention practices such as laundering their scrubs and uniforms . Employees are purchasing their own scrubs and uniforms and laundering them themselves . They are facing the same cost of goods hospitals are , and they don ’ t know what to do ; they are facing a new challenge and obstacle : Fear .
In a commentary , Jagger ( 2007 ) focused on protecting healthcare workers from bloodborne pathogens , but she did not stop there , adding , “ The basic measures for protecting healthcare workers from the life-threatening risk of bloodborne pathogen infection should be viewed everywhere as essential and included in the national health priorities of all nations . The resources for this task are unlikely to be forthcoming unless we reassess the value we place on healthcare workers . They are not merely a service commodity ; they are an invaluable asset to their countries and to the world community . Without them there would be no healthcare . All of us benefit from protecting their lives and health .
Protecting Healthcare Personnel
There should be no argument about keeping healthcare personnel safe or that they “ are an invaluable asset to their countries and to the world community .” ( Jagger , 2007 ) However , there is opposition to keeping healthcare personnel safe through the obligatory laundering of hospital required scrubs and uniforms .
There have been countless studies , particularly in Europe , that objectively and without caveats found that healthcare personnel ’ s scrubs and uniforms are both real and potential carriers of bacteria , viruses , and other potentially infectious
march 2024 • www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com •
25