Texas Medical Center Co-op Partners with UNX-Christeyns

As the laundry conduit for the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center Hospital Laundry (TMCHL) Co-op Association in Houston is now busier than ever. Three years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the hospitals to curtail services that led to a sharp decrease in patients and a steep drop in laundry volume. With the health crisis officially over and a new management team in place, the co-op has successfully turned the corner and is now achieving production levels above pre-pandemic levels.

The TMCHL Co-op account is managed by Crothall Laundry & Linen Services, which handles the cleaning of bed sheets, scrubs, gowns, pillowcases, washcloths, bath towels, baby blankets and other such items.

Adam Dufresne joined TMCHL as operations manager in March 2022, and three months later he became the facility’s general manager. He implemented changes that included new methods, hired more employees, and changed to a new wash process solution from UNX-Christeyns. The moves galvanized the operation, which is running nearly 24/7 to handle the workload increase.

“After a production drop of about 35% during the pandemic, we are now packing and shipping over 800,000 pounds of laundry a week,” Dufresne said. “Our forecast is to produce in the neighborhood of 42 million pounds this fiscal year.

“Recruiting and building our management team was a long and difficult process. The management team, as well as the staff, suffered a large amount of turnover after the pandemic. In the past year I trained the current team and they have done a spectacular job. We have a strong and knowledgeable group of people that succeeds even in the most challenging situations.”

More than 60 institutions, including 21 hospitals, comprise the 2.1 square-mile Texas Medical Center medical district. Established in 1945 when World War II was ending, the campus today includes academic, research and specialty institutions in addition to medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy schools, and public health organizations. All are not-for-profit and some are affiliated with the University of Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor College.

To read the full article, click here.