The Laundry and Linen Department at Jamaica and Flushing Hospital Medical Center recognized Linen Awareness Day. Both hospitals hosted the event in collaboration with 
Unitex, the laundry services company utilized by the MediSys Health Network.
The purpose of the event was to educate hospital staff about how the Laundry and Linen Department operates. Displays were presented in the lobbies at each hospital to demonstrate the importance of linen conservation and the costs associated with it.
The Laundry and Linen Department is responsible for the distribution and cleaning of all towels, patient gowns, bed sheets, wash cloths, underpads, blankets and employee uniforms. Each month Jamaica Hospital processes approximately 154,000 pounds of laundry per month at an annual cost of over $1,090,000 and Flushing Hospital processes over 63,000 pounds of laundry per month at an annual cost of $530,000, inclusive of linens and a combined total of 2,500 uniforms.
Proper linen utilization management can reduce these costs significantly. Jamaica Hospital, Flushing Hospital and our laundry services provider are working together to develop solutions to increase efficiency.