How to Identify the Best Scrub Rental Service Provider for Your Healthcare Facility
The scrub rental service you choose impacts your entire healthcare organization. A medical office’s scrub management affects everything from patient and staff comfort to the organization’s levels of inventory control and cost efficiency.
In this article, we delve into the critical factors to examine when choosing a scrub rental service, shedding light on the elements that contribute to a seamless and efficient experience for healthcare associates. From quality and customization to sustainability and customer support, we uncover the key aspects that healthcare administrators and professionals should prioritize to ensure they partner with a scrub rental service that aligns perfectly with their needs and values.
What to Look for in a Scrub Rental Service
As healthcare facilities seek flexible and cost-effective solutions, the option of scrub rental services has emerged as one of the most practical choices to improve cost efficiencies. However, selecting the right scrub rental service is a decision that warrants careful consideration. Here are some factors to keep in mind.
Quality Medical Uniforms
Are your scrubs designed for maximum comfort? Are they from top manufacturers using high-quality materials?
Your patients and staff deserve comfortable, durable scrubs and garments suited to fit their needs. Ensure your scrub service offers a wide variety of colors, sizes, and color-fast fabrics to preserve their look and feel over time.
Branding is also an important aspect when selecting medical uniforms. Consistent branding with the right logos and colors can help your staff feel part of a winning team, enhancing your brand and leaving patients with a positive impression.
Ensure that your garments are constantly inspected for tears, stains, fraying, and other signs of wear and tear. Hand-inspected scrubs ensure an optimal appearance, so ask your scrub provider whether they offer this high level of garment care.
Infection Prevention Processes
Medical uniform laundering processes must meet or exceed standards from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC). Your scrub rental partner should help you maintain these safety standards with an effective infection prevention and quality assurance process.
ImageFIRST’s medical laundry cleaning uses Triple BioShield Protection® to kill 99.999% of common pathogens. Plastic wrappings keep your garments protected from cross-contamination during transportation from our laundering plant to your healthcare facility.
We also use a 5-point quality system to provide proper sanitation and disinfection for your linens and garments. We help you use today’s best practices in linen management to ensure you stay ahead of state and federal regulations for maintaining medical facility health and safety.
Tips:
- Use freshly cleaned and disinfected garments in all areas of your facility, not just in surgical areas.
- When garments are soiled or contaminated, immediately secure them in designated enclosed storage bins to await transportation to your linen service.
- Prevent cross-contamination at all stages in the process, from storage to transportation to cleaning to restocking at your facility.
- Disinfect laundry and garment storage areas regularly.
- Ensure your staff return medical garments daily before leaving your facility.
- Work with an accredited healthcare garment linen rental and laundry specialist.
Inventory Control and Cost Efficiency
How strong is your scrub management strategy? The right partner will help your healthcare facility conduct careful cost management and inventory management, reviewing your entire process from start to finish to identify opportunities for improved efficiency.
Your scrub partner should help you maintain an inventory based on your facility’s needs, including needs that arise suddenly during busy times. Ask about options like same-day linen services to keep adequate linens on hand when you have an influx of patients and staff.
Inventory management should be provided by a dedicated customer representative who listens to your needs and is empowered to solve them. ImageFIRST offers Customer Advocates who bring benefits like:
- On-time pickup and deliveries according to your schedule
- Streamlined inventory management for a smooth flow
- Direct communication access through an app or cell phone
- Quarterly Needs Assessments to ensure your program still meets your needs
- Management of the ID-360 program with RFID-chipped garments for greater tracking and accountability
- Secure linen storage and transportation including the safe and fully managed VAULTSystemTM
When analyzing your inventory management, don’t forget to look at your current billing and pricing arrangements to see if you’re getting the most out of your budget. Billing should always be simple and transparent with fair prices and no hidden fees.
Guaranteed Peace of Mind
Every medical facility faces the constant challenge of missing scrubs. On any given day, you’re losing scrubs to being misplaced, becoming too worn to use, or acquiring stains/tears that take them out of circulation.
When your supply goes down, your stress goes up. This is why ImageFIRST offers its Garment Guarantee with your scrub rental program. The guarantee means we’ll automatically replace any missing scrub to ensure you maintain a steady level of inventory at all times. As mentioned, we also offer same-day linen rescue services to give you greater peace of mind.
ImageFIRST: The Scrub Rental Service You Can Trust
As you can see, ImageFIRST offers effective scrub management solutions to ensure you have the best possible linen management. Read more about our healthcare garment expertise in the following case study.
Read the Scrub Management Case Study
We welcome you to learn more about our convenient scrub rental services and see how our scrub management program supports successful healthcare facilities. Please contact us for an estimate.