Healthcare laundry operators and suppliers have faced enormous challenges in the 14 months since COVID-19 turned the economy upside down. Recovery has progressed, but many operators on TRSA’s April 27 Healthcare Virtual Roundtable said their volume hasn’t returned to 2019 levels and processing what’s there is difficult because of labor shortages.

Participants in the session, which included 60-plus operators and suppliers for two hours of talks, cited a variety of reasons why hospital accounts are producing less than pre-pandemic revenue, including:

• Elective surgeries continue to be postponed, although they are expected to reach prior levels through second quarter ...