Laundry Services' Role in Long-Term Care
Along with the retirement and inevitable aging of the baby boomer demographic, the long-term care industry is seeing that beginnings of a boom that will potentially last several decades. This is exciting news for the dedicated healthcare people who specialize in long-term and elder care, but it does pose some issues for facility managers, who ? re having to plan and account for future growth. One area where they must place particular concern is in their own choice of Laundry service Hampton, va .
Client Perception
Although there are many aspects of care that patents and their family members are going to be concerned with when choosing long-term care options (and whether to stay with the option they chose), one of the most easily visible aspects is the quality and cleanliness of the facility's linens, towels, and garments. Clients believe that it can be a simple thing for a facility to provide fresh, clean, and new linens to each patient, so long-term facilities are forced to live up to that perception, even though it is not always the case.
The Pratfalls of In-House Laundry
Some facilities opt to perform all of their laundering needs themselves, maintaining an on-premises laundry center. Nevertheless when you add residents' personal items and personal laundry needs to your facility's overall linen need, the idea quickly becomes difficult to maintain an in-house laundry center. The manpower and machine availability needed for each of those personal items and general linen requirements can be overwhelming if you are not fully prepared.
Hiring a Clothing Service
Hiring a laundry service can make a long-term care facility manager's life significantly easier. The case, you will still need machines and manpower to ensure that residents' personal clothing and items are washed and additionally cared for if that is an on-site offering, but bedding, towels, gowns, uniforms and other linens can be looked after outside of your facility by experts. Professional healthcare laundry services are fully equipped to take on cleaning in addition to maintaining your linen supply, no matter the size of your facility is or your demand level.
Professional clothing services stay in business because they are able to meet the demands your patients and their family members have for your facility's linens. A healthcare laundry service will provide your facility with a rotating supply of expertly cleaned and sanitized linens to ensure that your patients and their families are pleased. They will also keep you and your employees thrilled because they scan each piece of bedding and linen when it comes in for cleaning to ensure that it is still functioning in the level of quality that your facility demands. Any item that does not meet inspection is replaced by the service, meaning you do not have to enjoy extra funds on constantly replacing and refreshing your linen supply.
Operating A Successful Laundry Service That Caters To Local Businesses
Nearby businesses are some of the most reliable clients for a professional laundry service. Local clients tend to be more loyal when dealing with many other local companies in a business-to-business relationship. They are also normally located within a certain geographical area so that pick-ups together with drop-offs are easier to manage. Following a few guidelines will help to make running a professional laundry service that suits local businesses easier and more profitable.
Prepare For The Unexpected
A business should be prepared for the unexpected. The largest probable problems involve the washers and dryers that are being used. A broken machine could cause a slowdown with work that will make some deliveries late. This affects the reliability of the service. Clients could end up uncertain if delays occur on a regular basis because of broken equipment. It is best to keep a number of commercial washer parts inside facility so that any problems can be repaired quickly. Maintaining an inventory of commercial washer parts will help even though a professional repairperson must be called since the components needed for a fast repair will be immediately available.
Advertise Wherever Possible
A specialized laundry service should always be looking for new clients. One way to make other local businesses aware of the company is to promote your business in visible areas as much as possible. This means placing the company name and logo on the shirts that employees are generally wearing. It also means using laundry bags for drop-off that have the same logo on the side. This type of subtle promotion will make other businesses or offices in the neighborhood familiar with the name of the company.
Schedule Logically
Several pick-ups and drop-offs should be scheduled in a logical fashion. Drivers should be able to take a single route that goes by every client location without requiring the truck to double back and traverse the same roadways multiple times. This will save fuel and often will shorten the amount of time that is required for pick-ups and sheduled delivery.
Maintain Inventory
A professional laundry service requires a variety of elements in order to operate each day. The business should keep excess essential supplies on the premises so that washing and drying can continue throughout the day without any interruptions. These materials should include detergents and laundry bags. The inventory levels should be checked every week and replacement supplies invested in as needed. Any extra commercial washer parts that have been used to repair a machine should be reordered right away. Maintaining a back-up inventory of supplies will help to keep the business running smoothly.
