New York Legislators Gain Industry Knowledge

To build support for TRSA’s legislative effort to increase reusable textiles in healthcare facilities, state legislators from New York gathered for a tour of the Unitex facility in Mount Vernon to gain a better understanding of the linen, uniform and facility services industry.

Led by Assemblymember Amanda Septimo (D-NY-84) and New York State Sen. Cordell Cleare (D-NY-30), the group heard from David Potack, the president of Unitex, giving an overview of plant operations and the importance of the textile cleaning process. During his remarks, Potack discussed the need for an increase of reusable healthcare textiles in facilities by sharing the experiences that Unitex went through in filling a void left by the overwhelming dependence healthcare facilities have on single-use items during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group also heard from Kevin Schwalb, TRSA’s vice president of government relations, who discussed the efforts that TRSA is taking to ensure a safe, more sustainable, less expensive and improved supply chain safety option for healthcare facilities’ operations.

“The National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) – a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – worked with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct a workshop to discuss the benefits of reusable healthcare textiles,” Schwalb said. “After the workshop, it was concluded that reusable HCTs provide a better option for healthcare facilities. Due to the current CDC confusion, it is important for states to take the lead in increasing reusable textiles in healthcare facilities.”

Potack took the delegation on a tour around the plant in which the group witnessed the details of processing healthcare textiles. “This is an eye-opening experience,” said Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman (D-NY-56) “Looking at this process from start to finish, it is clear this effort is not just a healthcare operations bill, it is a jobs bill as well.”

Assemblymember Septimo and State Sen. Cleare are the sponsors of this legislation in their respective chambers.