Clean Receives Healthcare Industry Accreditation

ST. LOUIS, MO, April 26, 2013

CLEAN has received accreditation--the industry's highest rating on quality and safety--from the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC).

HLAC is a non-profit organization that inspects and accredits laundries processing healthcare textiles for hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities.

HLAC's mission is to publish high standards for processing healthcare textiles in laundries, and to provide an accreditation process that recognizes those laundries that meet these standards. The decision to become accredited is completely voluntary.

"Becoming accredited makes us a better company. And gives our customers peace of mind to know their supplier is meeting the highest standards in processing healthcare textiles," says Jeff Hitpas, CLEAN Vice-President/General Manager St. Louis and Healthcare.

"The customers we serve are used to dealing with agencies, vendors and people who have accreditation," Hitpas said. "It's the right thing to do if you are in the business of processing and providing healthcare textiles."

CLEAN's health care division focuses on linens, scrubs, doctor coats and other cleaning services to include surgery centers, hospitals, small clinics and physicians' offices.

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

The HLAC accreditation process was developed with several industry groups, including: American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES), American Reusable Textiles Association (ARTA), Association for Linen Management (ALM), Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), International Association for Healthcare Textile Management (IAHTM) and Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA).