Washing the Clothes

One of the benefits to my working in the OR has been to not have to provide my own scrubs.  The cost of providing one’s scrubs, especially when there are rules to the color being worn, can be quite high.

AORN standards state that they do not support scrubs being laundered at home.  AORN is also aware that some facilities require personnel to launder their scrubs at home and that suggested criteria should be met.  This brought up questions for our staff.  We questioned everyone being able to get the correct water temperature to adequately clean them, what was the staff bringing home to wash in the same machine that they washed the family clothes, what was being brought back into the facility and “shared” with our patients.

Our facility has never questioned providing our scrubs, but the cost of having them laundered has been brought up.  This cost seems to increase constantly in the current economy.  The resolution for our facility at the present time was to purchase a washing machine and dryer and staff scrubs for the facility.  The employees wash the scrubs as needed and make sure they are put in the appropriate places in all locker rooms.  All of the staff work together at getting this completed.  Finding the time to get the laundry done at work is never as hard as finding the time at home.

Laundering our own scrubs within the facility has been working well and even though the initial cost can seem a little overwhelming the profit is definitely worth it.  What are the thoughts and concerns for your staff when it comes to “washing the clothes”?

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