Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council

HLAC FORMS ADVISORY COMMITTEE, SEEKS MEMBERS

New committee will provide recommendations on HLAC initiatives for 2009

FRANKFORT, IL, 1/16/09 — The Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) has announced the formation of an Advisory Committee and seeks applications from industry professionals interested in serving as committee members. The purpose of the new committee is to advise and make recommendations on HLAC activities and policies.

HLAC’s mission is to publish high standards for laundering healthcare textiles, and to provide an inspection and accreditation process that recognizes those laundries that meet these high standards. The decision to become accredited is completely voluntary. To date, 57 laundries have received accreditation from HLAC.

HLAC Seeks Industry Professionals to Serve on Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee will consist of industry professionals (active or retired) from accredited laundries, other healthcare textile processors, industry associations and suppliers, past HLAC board members, government representatives, and the consumer sector. While the HLAC Board of Directors will set the priorities of the Advisory Committee, the committee may also suggest action items to HLAC that it deems important to processing healthcare textiles and the accreditation of healthcare laundries. The board appoints the chair of the Advisory Committee and will conduct an annual assessment of the group’s objectives and activities. Steve Tinker, vice president of Gurtler Industries, Inc., has been appointed to serve as the first chairperson of the HLAC Advisory Committee. Persons interested in applying to serve on the committee should contact Tinker at sjtinker@gurtler.com.

“The Advisory Committee can have significant input on key HLAC initiatives for 2009,” says Tinker. “These initiatives include ‘harmonizing’ HLAC standards to include Canada and developing a standard for surgical pack operations.” Other initiatives include seeking public comment on the current standard as part of a three-year review and expanding marketing efforts to publicize the benefits of accreditation to the healthcare industry.

Why Accreditation?

The primary benefit of accreditation is that an independent third party has inspected your facility and found that it meets or exceeds the highest standards for processing healthcare textiles. A laundry cannot inspect and accredit itself and its customers generally do not have the time or expertise to conduct inspections.

The following associations support the Council and are represented on the HLAC Board of Directors.

• Association for Linen Management (ALM)
• Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)
• American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA)
• American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES)
• International Association for Healthcare Textile Management (IAHTM)
• Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA)

The following government agencies have advised the Council or currently are represented on the HLAC Board of Directors.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Department of Veteran’s Affairs
• U.S. Army Medical Command

For more information on HLAC and the benefits of accreditation, visit www.hlacnet.org or email Kathy Tinker at kathytinker@sbcglobal.net.

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Media Contact: Nancy Jenkins @ 913/432-6177 or nancy@jenkinsim.com