ALEXANDRIA, Va. — June 30, 2017 — Crothall Laundry Services’ Chicago, Wheeling, Ill., facility is the latest recipient of TRSA Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification, reflecting its commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by TRSA inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing.

The certification confirms a laundry’s dedication to compliance and processing healthcare linens and garments using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for TRSA inspectors’ evaluation of critical control points minimize risk. The independent, third-party inspection must confirm essential evidence that:

• Employees are properly trained and protected;
• Managers understand legal requirements;
• OSHA-compliant; and
• Physical plant operates effectively.

Crothall now has 13 TRSA Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified facilities. In addition to the newest designee, these are located in Mobile, Ala. (Coastal Laundry); Phoenix, Ariz.; La Mirada and Ontario, Calif.; Lakeland, Fla.; Augusta and Rome, Ga.; Madisonville, Ky.; Belcamp, Md., Winston-Salem, N.C.; Johnson City, Tenn.; and Milwaukee, Wis.

Certified facilities pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare linens and garments and zero presence of harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly annual testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality-control procedures in laundry operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with TRSA launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles. With 100+ years as the textile services industry’s leading business association, TRSA’s expertise in laundry BMP development is unmatched.

“Congratulations to Crothall on their certification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their dedication to building their customers’ confidence that their laundry takes every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted June 30, 2017

Source: TRSA

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — June 28, 2017 — Two Milliken flooring solutions took three accolades at NeoCon 2017: a Metropolis Magazine’s #MetropolisLikes Award, a BUILDINGS Product Innovations Grand Award and an Interior Design HiP at NeoCon Honoree Award. Spanning a range of audiences, the honors illustrate how Milliken flooring solutions provide both innovative design and unparalleled performance with meaningful advantages for architects, designers and end-use facility managers.

The Encryption collection, which premiered at NeoCon 2017, won a #MetropolisLikes Award and was a finalist for Interior Design’s HiP at NeoCon Award for Workplace: Carpet.

The Moraine collection won the BUILDINGS Product Innovations Grand Award for Flooring, highlighting its unique approach to subfloor moisture management as an added benefit for facility managers.

“We’re proving how building materials can move beyond surface-level aesthetics—and how doing so significantly benefits architects, designers and facility managers alike,” said Mark Strohmaier, vice president of marketing for the Milliken floor covering division. “It’s an honor to be recognized at NeoCon for elevating flooring’s role in design and functional problem-solving.”

Encryption Collection

#MetropolisLikes winner, HiP at NeoCon honoree

A technological exploration of shadows and highlights, Encryption explores the increasingly blurred line between people and technology. The aesthetic is both timeless and unmistakably modern—balancing maximalism and minimalism, and forming the foundation for commercial environments where technology enhances the form and function of our lives.

Layered pixelated color blocks interplay shadows and highlights for familiar yet novel floor structure. Digital texture is encoded through a pseudo-random pattern for elevated dimensionality. Two complementary patterns—Block Code and Linear Code—in twenty color options and 25 cm x 1 m plank carpet tiles can be used individually or in conjunction with one another.

At first glance, tiers of block structures convey a sense of connectivity. Upon closer examination, extraordinarily intricate layers of many colors begin to reveal themselves. Only achievable through Milliken’s high-definition Digital Dye Injection (DDI) technology, the nuanced layering results in a dynamic tertiary read of color. This technology-enabled design nods the now fundamental role of connectivity in the 21st-century lifestyle.

Benefits of Encryption include:

• Features 39.3 percent total recycled content to minimize raw materials consumption without compromising performance;
• Constructed with high-performance Milliken-Certified WearOn® nylon type 6,6;
• Free of all 21 Red List Chemicals with a Red List Compliant Declare label;
• Available with TractionBack® bio-based, adhesive-free installation to reduce or eliminate VOC off-gassing;
• Manufactured with zero process waste sent to landfill and up to 51 percent renewable energy derived from landfill-harvested methane; and
• Contributes to LEED, Living Building Challenge, WELL Building Standard and other green certifications.

Moraine Collection

BUILDINGS Product Innovations Grand winner

A contemporary celebration of the earth’s contrasting contours, Moraine depicts the varied topography of the earth’s surface. Four patterns—Explorer, Navigator, Relief and Regions—offer a range of geometric abstractions and line densities to create new planes and textures for the floor.

Designed by the Milliken Asia Pacific Design Team, Moraine showcases the capabilities of Milliken’s global design studio, regionalizing a cartography-inspired collection for the Americas. Doing so allows global companies to create and maintain interior brand standards in locations worldwide.

Moraine features a unique PVC-free, open-cell cushion backing that provides a myriad of performance benefits, including unparalleled moisture control built into the carpet construction. Created with performance and longevity in mind, its moisture management properties provide assurance for facility managers.

Subfloor moisture is an estimated $1 billion issue and a leading cause of flooring failure. It is a result of rising water tables and/or improperly cured concrete subfloors—issues that often arise when trying to meet tight project deadlines.

Milliken’s moisture vapor-wicking, open cell cushion-backed carpet enables water vapor to evaporate before it ever turns into damaging liquid water—solving the root cause of costly subfloor moisture issues. Instead of viewing floor preparation as a prerequisite of installation, Milliken modular carpet eliminates the cost and time of flooring prep.

Additional benefits of Moraine include:

• Features a total recycled content of 41 percent;
• Constructed with a durable tufted, textured loop of Milliken-Certified WearOn® nylon;
• Protected with StainSmart® stain and soil resist and repel to extend the life of the carpet;
• Carries an Environmental Product Declaration and Declare Label – LBC Compliant;
• Contributes to LEED, Living Building Challenge, WELL Building Standard and other green certifications; and
• Manufactured by Milliken using renewable energy and with zero process waste sent to landfill,

Posted June 28, 2017

Source: Milliken

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — June 28, 2017 — More than 175 attendees of the recent Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) annual conference visited the Hygienically Clean exhibit at the conference’s trade show. Visitors learned the value of doing business with a Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified launderer and how the certification verifies laundries’ best management practices (BMPs) and quantifies laundered product cleanliness.

It was the certification’s second such exhibit at an APIC annual conference, capitalizing on infection preventionists’ interest in the importance of linen service cleanliness. The vast majority of the visitors to the exhibit indicated their employers (mostly hospitals, some outpatient facilities) outsource laundry. Most of these could state the name of the linen service they use. Many told Hygienically Clean staff they have toured such laundries and said they would discuss certification with their launderers.

“Infection preventionist” was the listed job title for about two-thirds of visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit. Other types of professionals who stopped by included:

• Chief Nursing Officer;
• Epidemiologist;
• Nurse Practitioner;
• Public Health;
• Quality/Process Improvement; and
• Registered Nurse.

Several visitors to the Hygienically Clean exhibit expressed concern about the product and service quality of their uniform and linen services providers. Using a Hygienically Clean certified launderer addresses this, they were told, as inspectors focus on a facility’s quality-assurance manual as the hub of control measures (BMPs) that minimize potential for error. In addition, unlike Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) certification, Hygienically Clean microbial testing measures finished product quality, enforcing a total microbial content ceiling and detecting absence of yeast, mold and bacteria.

Visitors received copies of the Hygienically Clean Healthcare standard and the brochure that explains benefits of using such a certified launderer. They also were welcome to a copy of “The Six C’s: Handling Soiled Linen in a Healthcare Environment,” a training video for personnel provided on a flash drive. Both represent Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified laundries’ commitment to sharing textile product management expertise with customers so they make more effective and efficient use of linen and uniform services.

The conference, which took place June 14-16 in Portland, Ore., drew nearly 5,000 healthcare professionals interested in the latest science, technologies and best practices for creating a safer world through prevention of infection. The event is recognized as the largest gathering of its kind in the world.

In January, Hygienically Clean Healthcare joined APIC in launching “Industry Perspectives,” a new online platform to expand clinical knowledge related to infection prevention product usage, the science supporting specific methodologies, and best practices to keep patients safe. The mobile-friendly web platform features white papers, background articles, product guides, videos and more.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare’s first campaign on the site enabled visitors to receive a copy of “The Six C’s.” The certification’s second Industry Perspectives campaign, “Handling Clean Linen in a Healthcare Environment,” enables visitors to the site to download a whitepaper that guides them in establishing site-specific guidelines for such handling. Both campaigns are scheduled to run through early July.

Posted June 28, 2017

Source: TRSA