Advances in healthcare technology are driving a quiet revolution in U.S. healthcare as doctors and surgical teams perform an increasing number of complex procedures such as heart surgeries on an outpatient basis.

For HandCraft Services in Richmond, VA, this shift means more poundage for its 60,000-square-foot (5,574-square meter) standalone outpatient medical plant, which sits adjacent to a virtually identical building across a parking lot that mainly processes hospital textiles. The company, now in its third generation of family ownership, was founded in 1970 as a dry-cleaning and healthcare laundering service. President Keith Nichols says he’s surprised by the burgeoning outpatient ...