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Medical Linen Loss Causes and What You Can Do About It

Medical linen loss causes are widespread throughout the healthcare industry. Every medical business is susceptible to linen loss and most won’t handle it well on their own. For those unprepared for linen loss, it can come in a variety of forms.

Medical Linen Loss Causes

If linen is missing, then any number of things could be happening. The three most common in medical businesses are:

Medical Staff Throw Them Out

The most common cause of linen loss in hospitals is premature disposal. According to the TRSA, US hospitals throw out nearly 90% of their linen before it reaches the end of its useful life. In many cases, this is because healthcare staff don’t understand their facility’s linen management system. Extra heavily soiled linens also often appear too far gone for washing.  

Patients Leaving With Them

Patients can sometimes take linens home with them because they don’t understand they aren’t supposed to keep them. This is most common with baby blankets wrapped around a newborn and thermal blankets used on the elderly. In some cases, guests will even take one or two items home with them because they don’t think it’s a major problem for the hospital. 

Medical Staff Are Taking Them Home

Patients aren’t the only ones who leave with linens. Hospital staff are very likely to take home different textiles, especially the scrubs they wear. This can be a huge detriment to a healthcare facility’s budget since scrubs in particular are some of the most expensive medical linens. 

What You Can Do About It

Working with a linen service company such as Crown Linen is the best way to tackle medical linen loss causes. With our help, healthcare facilities will have access to:

• Durable Material: Our linens are reusable and durable. They will stand up to the worst imaginable conditions a hospital can throw at them and still be ready for more. For linens this high in quality, staff will think twice about throwing them away.
• Professional Laundry: This durability comes from our commercial laundry facilities. We fix every blemish and abrasion or we otherwise completely replace each linen free of charge. When staff can’t tell the difference between new and old linens, they will be far less likely to throw them away.
• Steady Stock: When it comes to losing linens to patients or staff, we can’t change signage or guidelines. However, we can closely monitor our clients’ linen stock and ensure that they always have what they need. We will always meet shortages with our readily available supply of reusable, long-lasting stock. 

Contact Crown Linen Today!

Medical linen loss causes are a hamper on your healthcare business’s profits. Crown Linen will meet those problems head-on. Contact us by using this link, clicking on a service area for their information, or filling out our online form.