Why do your textdevices (aka specialty items) go missing?🤔(and what to do about it)
Hey there, it’s me, Greg.
First, I want to take a moment to say thank you – the support for the upcoming launch of my book,
Linen Saves Lives: How Linen Compliance Can Prevent Infection, Improve Patient Safety, and Maximize Profits, has been absolutely overwhelming.
It’s a solid 10 chapters and you'll see what most hospitals miss - how linen directly impacts infection prevention, patient safety, and costs. I break down the unseen risks, compliance essentials, and real strategies to help you run a safer, more efficient facility. This book has been nearly a year in the making – from writing to editing – and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.
If you’d like an early copy of the book, which covers these challenges and so much more, just reply with “Book” and I’ll make sure it gets to you!
Now, onto this week’s newsletter:
So, if you’ve been following along, you know in our last few newsletters, we’ve covered the challenges of handling textdevices – those small but mighty specialty items like cubicle curtains, surgical drapes, and patient lift slings.
And, if you’ve been paying attention (and I hope you have been!) these specialty textiles are critical to patient safety and have unique (and very precise) handling requirements.
They’re also notorious loss leaders in the healthcare industry. Just mentioning textdevices to any environmental services director will likely have them reaching for the Tums.
So this week, we’re tackling a question I hear way too often: Where do all the textdevices go? Whether it’s the patient lift sling that vanishes like a sock in the dryer or the surgical drapes that somehow end up in the trash, these losses aren’t just frustrating – they’re expensive.
So, let’s dig into the common reasons behind the losses of textdevices and, more importantly, how to prevent them.
The Mystery of the Missing Textdevices
Remember the story I shared about my employee, Maria, a few newsletters ago? She appeared in my office one day with a tub full of ruined textdevices – from cubicle curtains with shredded mesh to surgical towels that looked like they’d been in a blizzard … of white lint. That tub alone represented thousands of dollars straight down the trash chute.
Luckily, we managed to resolve the issue without too much fallout. But that’s not always the case. Textdevice losses can lead to surgery delays, replacement costs piling up, and a lot of unnecessary stress.
The thing is, healthcare facilities across the country deal with similar issues every day, and the root causes tend to be the same:
Lumping everything together: Bulk and specialty items are often mixed, leading to losses or damage.
Insufficient tracking systems: Without proper tracking, textdevices can pull a Houdini at any point in the supply chain.
Improper staff training: Many losses result from staff not knowing how to handle or store these specialized items (as was the case with my mom-and-pop laundry years ago).
Get a Grip on Your Textdevices
So what can you do to stop the disappearing act? Here are some practical steps you can take:
Segregate Textdevices from Bulk Laundry - Remember that Sesame Street song, “One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others)”? Keep this in mind for your hospital textiles. Textdevices have special processing requirements and must be kept separate from other bulk laundry items, from collection to processing. I recommend doing this with color-coded bins or clearly labeled bags to avoid mix-ups.
Invest in Tracking Systems - These days we have AirTags and Find My Phone software to keep an eye on our most important things. The good news is that similar technology is already being used in healthcare laundry. Invest in technologies like RFID tags or barcode scanning to monitor where your textdevices are at all times. This can drastically reduce losses and improve accountability.
Train Your Staff - Just as we had to revamp our systems after that tub of destroyed textdevices years ago, you’ll need to maintain tight controls across the entire laundry operation, starting with staff. Make sure everyone handling textdevices – from nurses to laundry workers – understands their importance and knows how to manage them correctly.
Audit Your Processes - Once you’ve developed an efficient system, that doesn’t mean your work is done. It’s essential to monitor all processes to spot opportunities for improvement early on. To do this, conduct regular reviews of your laundry and inventory workflows to identify weak points where items are most likely to get lost.
Final Thought
The truth is, textdevices may only make up a small percentage of your laundry volume, but their impact on patient care and safety and your bottom line is massive. By addressing these issues head-on, you can save your facility and team time, money, and a lot of headaches.
If you’d like help evaluating your current processes or exploring tracking technologies, I’d be happy to chat. Just reply to this email or connect with me on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to lend a helping hand to a fellow laundry ninja.🥷
Until next time,
Greg
Compliance Shark