Textile Services Preview: Growing in Outpatient Care

Medical care in the U.S. continues to shift toward outpatient services, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This growth in outpatient services – including services now performed in clinics or surgical centers rather than hospitals – is creating outsourcing opportunities for laundry operators, as you’ll see in next month’s Textile Services article titled “Outpatient Medical – Diverse Opportunities for Route-Based Service Providers.”

Both healthcare laundries and other textile service providers are active in this niche market. Companies such as Healthcare Laundry Services Group (HLSG) report strong prospects in this area because hospitals often prefer having a single vendor handle both inpatient and outpatient facilities, says Joe LaPorta, the company’s president and CEO.

Other systems are more flexible, says consultant Dan Sanchez. “I frequently see healthcare-system RFPs that reserve the right to select multiple laundry providers rather than award every facility to a single company,” says Sanchez, president of Sanchez Advisory Group. “This creates an opportunity for regional, corporate and family-owned laundries that already serve uniform and food-and-beverage customers. Their route-based service model can be well-suited for clinics, even if they are not interested in processing heavily soiled, high-volume acute-care linen.”

One company that’s pursuing this niche is Miller’s Textile Services, Wapakoneta, OH. Miller’s Textile primarily serves standalone hospitals and regional healthcare providers rather than large national healthcare systems, says President Andrew Thornbury. His company’s ability to provide personalized services, technological solutions and operational support helps it compete with rival textile service providers in the outpatient space.

Meanwhile, healthcare consolidation is producing opportunities as well. As hospital systems expand, they often establish clinics farther from their main campuses. This creates openings for regional and route-based laundry providers. As noted above, some hospital systems allow clinics to select their own textile suppliers, rather than requiring a single vendor for all. This flexibility gives other companies a chance to compete for clinic business.

In another development, technology, especially radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems, is increasingly serving as a differentiator for laundries managing outpatient medical textile inventories, according to sources. RFID systems provide real-time tracking of garments and linens, helping healthcare facilities monitor usage, reduce losses and improve inventory management. By tracking wash cycles, garment locations and inventory levels, laundries can provide greater transparency and accountability. For healthcare providers facing financial pressures, RFID can help control costs by identifying lost items and reducing unnecessary inventory.

Advanced RFID systems can also improve accountability by giving employees ID badges that allow them to use on-site vending machines to obtain scrubs in hospitals and clinics. However, some industry experts question whether smaller clinics can justify the cost of this technology, suggesting that RFID may be more practical for larger facilities with significant staff populations. Similarly, while dental practices and other outpatient offices present opportunities, larger groups of these specialists are more likely to benefit from standardized flatwork and garment-rental programs.

To learn more, watch for the full text of “Outpatient Medical – Diverse Opportunities for Route-Based Service Providers” in September’s Textile Services magazine. Click here for more information or to subscribe to Textile Services.