Healthcare Textile Issues and Infection Prevention

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COURSE DESCRIPTION: This continuing education course explores the evidence relating to reusable healthcare textiles’ role in healthcare-acquired infection prevention as well as describe the findings in the medical literature that reusable healthcare textiles contribute to the reduction of environmental impact, including on climate, water, and solid waste compared to disposables. It will also examine the life cycle of reusable healthcare textiles and the cost savings they can contribute to the institutional bottom line. Additionally, it explains why patient-care healthcare textiles are laundered separately from textile products used by environmental services, and how modern laundry operations and processes help keep patients safe by providing a hygienically clean HCT product.

NOTE: This course was part of the 2022 Symposium on Healthcare Value Analysis and Infection Prevention, developed by Keystone Media Inc. in partnership with Healthcare Hygiene magazine.

EXPERT INSTRUCTORS: Michael Overcash, Lynne Sehulster and John Scherberger

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  1. Understand why patient-care healthcare textiles are laundered separately from textile products used by Environmental Services;
  2. Appreciate the fact that modern laundry operations and processes help to keep patients safe by providing a hygienically clean HCT product
  3. Realize that despite the overall benefits associated with laundering reusable HCTs, there is an important environmental sustainability concern (i.e., plasticized microfiber) for which the laundry industry is working to provide a solution to this problem.
  4. Explore the data indicating that reusable healthcare textiles do not represent a risk of causation for healthcare-acquired infections (HAI).
  5. Describe the findings in the medical literature that reusable healthcare textiles contribute to the reduction of environmental impact, including on climate, water, and solid waste compared to disposables.
  6. Examine the life cycle of reusable healthcare textiles and the cost savings they can contribute to the institutional bottom line.

Course Content