Maximizing restaurants’ hygiene requires more of them to adopt a cleanliness practice of outsourcing their supply of expertly laundered tablecloths, garments and other textiles and products that keep these facilities clean. TRSA is calling on the National Governors Association (NGA) today to prompt states to feature linen, uniform and facility services in guidance documents for restaurants as they reopen amid the current COVID-19 environment.

North Texas Health Care Laundry, Grand Prairie, TX, recently gave a local news station insight into its facility as it processes healthcare linens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gurtler Industries Inc., South Holland, IL, recently announced that the company’s research-and-development (R&D) team has developed a new laundry method utilizing Pulse Shield fluid repellent fabric finish, which can transform typical healthcare scrubs and clothing into fluid repellent garments, increasing their potential use as personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a news release.

Health Systems Cooperative Laundries (HSCL), St. Paul, MN, a co-op owned by the Twin Cities’ major healthcare companies that provides laundry services to every metro hospital, recently detailed how it has updated its operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

APPEARA, Norfolk, NE, President, Owner and General Manager Bob Dudley recently welcomed a member of the family’s fifth generation to the company’s staff.

TRSA’s Certified Professional Laundry Manager (CPLM) training program will be available as the latest self-study professional-development offering by TRSA. Starting May 4, laundry managers from around the world should take advantage of this opportunity to enhance managerial proficiency and gain immediate and long-term returns through the skills learned in this self-contained program. Available for purchase through the TRSA store, the self-study training materials are offered in either digital or hard copy format.

In a recently announced collaboration, University Hospitals in Cleveland has agreed to acquire 25,000 copper-infused face masks for use in its system to help alleviate a critical shortage of surgical masks needed to protect patients and staff from infection by the COVID-19 virus, according to a news release.

TRSA recently aired its second in a series of COVID-19 Weekly Industry Update webinars, with a broad-based focus on industry efforts to reopen plants and revive businesses with an emphasis on resources available to help ensure a smooth transition back to growth.

As companies finalize plans to reopen plants in the coming weeks, a group of industry suppliers have offered tips on startup procedures aimed at bringing plants back online quickly and safely with quality processing. Several supplier companies (and one individual industry veteran) contributed to the first installment of this two-part article.

One trend that’s emerging amid the COVID-19 crisis is a renewed emphasis on cleanliness and the need for the uniforms of first responders to undergo professional processing in order to minimize the risk of exposing colleagues, family members or the public at large to the virus.