Hospitals are beginning to specify that the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) must accredit laundry service providers. That's according to accredited laundries monitoring bid requests in the past six months.
    "A year ago, you wouldn't have seen a bid with language that 'the awarded bidder will be HLAC-accredited,'" says Bob Pfeifer, district manager of Sodexo's Eastern region. "And now the accreditation requirement is occurring with greater frequency in my region." Two of Sodexo's  plants are accredited and the company is seeking accreditation for 10 additional plants in 2008.
    Dave Stern, left, president of Paris Companies, shares a similar experience. "The first bid stipulating that the selected laundry be HLAC-accredited came across my desk the first of the year," Stern says. "Not long after that, another bid stated that the selected laundry must follow HLAC guidelines.
    "I see this trend increasing as hospitals become aware there is an accreditation body for healthcare laundries," he adds. "As more laundries become accredited and as HLAC continues to educate the healthcare professionals, I believe accreditation will become an industry standard."
    For more information on accreditation and HLAC: www.hlacnet.org.

Are you considering accreditation, but dread preparing for the inspection to become accredited? Well, you are not alone. Bates Troy of Binghamton, NY, took a team approach and shares the process they used to prepare for inspection.
   The Bates Troy management team includes (left to right) standing: Randy Widrick, Jim Rheinheimer, Mike Sipes, Ed Arzouian, and Brian Kradjian. Seated are Christine Skojec, Ara Kradjian and Tom Singe. To begin, the management team took the process very seriously and provided the necessary time and resources needed. All departments shared the responsibility of preparing for the inspection and gave the process their full cooperation. While many of the standards and guidelines were already being met, the team says the documentation process was a worthwhile exercise. Bates Troy also held several internal trial inspections to help prepare for the real thing. The company has found this practice so beneficial that it has become a regular practice.