Paris Cos. Achieves Hygienically Clean Healthcare for Ravenna Laundry
Paris Cos., a family-owned uniform, healthcare and hospital linen supplier headquartered in DuBois, PA has earned the Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification for its Ravenna, OH laundry. Achieving this certification reflects their commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing. Paris Cos. serves customers in PA, NY, Ohio, and West Virginia. Their DuBois facility achieved the Hygienically Clean certification in 2017.
The Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:
- Employees are properly trained and protected
- Managers understand regulatory requirements
- OSHA-compliant
- Physical plant operates effectively
To achieve certification initially, laundries pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and diminished presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. They also must pass a facility inspection. To maintain their certification, they must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained. Re-inspection occurs every two to three years.
This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.
Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations by verifying quality control procedures in linen, uniform and facility services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.
Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.
Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.
“Congratulations to Paris’ Ravenna location on their certification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry takes every step possible to prevent human illness.”
Paris Cos. also holds the Clean Green certification, which proves their commitment to customers that their laundry is dedicated to standards for operational efficiency and sustainability. Clean Green certification underscores ongoing sustainability efforts and adherence to the highest standards in their production and delivery operations.
For information on Hygienically Clean and other TRSA certification programs, contact Angela Freeman, manager, certification programs at 703.519.0029, ext. 111, or email afreeman@trsa.org.