I am the Manager of a laundry department in a 160 bed nursing home in upstate NY and have been hoping to find some comparative linen usage data specifically related to long term care.

As we tighten our belts, I am being asked to bring our laundry linen usage into line with industry averages but I have been unsuccessful in obtaining reliable usage numbers from facilities or vendors in my area. I know other long term care facilities wouldbenefit from this type of data as well.
Thank you,
Dave Zoller

Dave,
I am looking for the same information. I manage the Housekeeping & Laundry at a 192 bed Nursing home in upstate New York. At present we are doing 7.2 lbs per resident day. Using two full-time aides (8 hours, 7 days per week). My laundry chemical costs run 8.9 cents PRD.

Steve Becker

Answer: There are a variety of ways to measure patient care linen usage on an activity level basis-patient days, adjusted patient days and resident stays. Additionally, the measurement varies by pounds, pieces and cost. Many long term care facilities measure on a pounds per patient day basis. Because the patient mix and product mix can vary from facility to facility, an average comparison may not be the best benchmark. In years past, an industry standard was 8 to 10 pounds per patient day for an extended care facility; however, a better benchmark is to compare performance against your best demonstrated practice within your own facility or a like facility.

Robin Holmes
President/Sr. Consultant
Integrated Linen Systems

(Robin Holmes is an independent consultant with 18 years of experience in the health care industry. She specializes in Linen Utilization Management Systems and Cost Reduction Measures.)

We are presently laundering hospital owned linen for a particular hospital. For the last twenty years they had been renting linen. Do you have any idea of what they can expect to have to purchase as replacement linen (based on a percentage of the soiled weight)? Also, what is a national percentage of linen in a hospital setting that will have stains that cannot be removed (again, based on soiled weight)?
Cherie D. Frey, Frey Laundry Services
Eunice, LA.

Answer: The cost for replacement of patient care linen is typically determined on a clean pound basis, as the soil to clean ration can vary from 8% to 13%, depending on the mix of the linen. The cost per clean pound, for a standard product mix, ranges from 8 to 12 cents per clean pound, as determined by the mix of linen. For example, if the pounds include a heavy mix of incontinent products, blankets and sheets, the replacement cost would be higher than if the mix includes a high percentage of lighter weight items such as pediatric and baby linens. Likewise, if the linen products are of a higher grade or quality, the purchase price would inflate the cost per pound. An average cost of 10 cents per clean pound processed, is an acceptable benchmark in the health care industry.

The use of clean weight results in a more consistent comparison. For example, a facility that generates soiled linen consisting of a heavy mix of incontinent care products, trash and disposable products that are co-mingled with the linen, would realize a greater variance than a facility that does not generate the same type of soiled mix.

The determining factor for "unacceptable linen" is subjective to the individual facility's quality standards. However, in an acceptable setting, an industry standard for permanently stained patient care linen, that is unacceptable for patient use, averages approximately .005% after rewash. As an example, every 100,000 pounds of processed linen could result in a range of 400-500 pounds of linen that is stained or damaged beyond use.

Robin Holmes
President/Sr. Consultant
Integrated Linen Systems

(Robin Holmes is an independent consultant with 18 years of experience in the health care industry. She specializes in Linen Utilization Management Systems and Cost Reduction Measures.)