TRSA Webinar Series: The Overlooked Link Between Infection Prevention and Laundry

Healthcare Purchasing News (HPN) recently had the opportunity to speak with two experts in the linen, uniform, and facility services industry about a series of upcoming webinars from TRSA focused on the relationship between infection prevention and laundry and linen.

Michael Lang has been a process analyst for Unitex since early 2014. His principal focus in the company is to work with subject matter experts to review, refine, and document business and technical processes. He has been an active contributor to TRSA, providing support to the Healthcare Committee, the Hygienically Clean Program, and other TRSA initiatives. He graduated from West Point in 2000 and completed his Army career as a captain in 2008.

Dyan Troxel, MSN, RN, is a registered nurse holding a master’s degree in nursing with a specialization in education. She has extensive experience in clinical and non-clinical settings including Surgical ICU, Neonatal ICU, Education, Process Improvement, and Healthcare Leadership. Currently serving as Director of Clinical Education at HandCraft Linen Services, Dyan leads the Linen Awareness Program, crafting integrated strategies to help clients effectively prevent linen loss.

Troxel and Lang spoke with Editor-in-Chief of HPN, Janette Wider.

Wider: Why do infection preventionists need training on laundry and linen? This is particularly relevant because I was just at AORN, where I spoke with many people about infection prevention.

Lang: There's a strong connection between healthcare laundry, the commercial laundry industry, and infection prevention. Infection preventionists in healthcare facilities are trained professionals responsible for preventing infections. Their key responsibilities include monitoring infection risks and trends, educating healthcare workers, and developing policies to ensure best practices are followed.

Healthcare textiles, including uniforms and patient linens, are used daily in patient care. It makes sense that infection prevention should be part of that process. Infection preventionists oversee multiple aspects, such as ensuring proper hand hygiene when handling textiles, whether picking up clean linens for patient care or managing soiled linens afterward. Their role extends beyond monitoring to educating healthcare workers about policies and best practices.

Troxel: Infection preventionists have a broad scope of responsibilities, including managing supply vendors like us. Our partnership is about protecting both patients and frontline workers.

Some key practices they need to be aware of include keeping clean linens covered, ensuring bottom shelves are solid, and separating soiled linens from clean ones. However, there's limited formal education on linen management, so infection preventionists often have to seek out this information. They rely on regulatory agencies such as CMS, OSHA, and CDC for guidance.

Our goal, especially in my role as a clinical educator, is to make this education readily available so they don’t have to search for it.

Lang: In addition to educating them on handling linens in their facilities, it's important to educate them about the commercial laundry process. Many healthcare workers wonder if reusable linens are safe and clean. We want to explain how linens are processed—from collection at the facility through commercial laundering and back again. We outline the compliance checks, certifications like TRSA’s Hygienically Clean program, and all the steps taken to ensure quality. By sharing this knowledge, we help build trust so infection preventionists can focus on patient care.

Wider: That leads to my next question. It seems infection preventionists don’t typically receive formal education on best practices for linens and textiles. You mentioned they have to seek out this information. Would you like to elaborate?

Lang: My mother was a registered nurse for over 40 years. When she found out I worked for a commercial laundry company specializing in healthcare linens, she told me she never knew what happened behind the scenes. She just retrieved clean linens, used them, and collected soiled ones without considering the process behind it. I took her on a tour of two of our facilities to show her the extensive work involved in ensuring healthcare facilities receive quality linens.

This isn't a criticism of healthcare professionals—it makes sense that their focus is on patient care rather than laundry operations. That’s why we see it as our responsibility to educate them.

Troxel: Exactly. Infection preventionists come from different backgrounds. Some are nurses, while others have backgrounds in epidemiology and may not have direct experience with linen management in a healthcare setting. That’s another reason why we want to ensure this information reaches a broad audience beyond just infection preventionists.

Many different professionals could benefit from this knowledge, not just infection preventionists.

Wider: What are some common questions healthcare professionals have about reusable linens and textiles?

Troxel: One common question is about the benefits of reusable versus disposable linens. As a commercial laundry provider, we advocate for reusable linens, but healthcare professionals want to understand why. It’s important to have data-backed resources explaining the advantages.

Reusable linens offer benefits for supply chain stability, storage efficiency, and, most importantly, patient care. They are often preferred due to their quality and comfort.

We would rather go into a doctor's office and have a gown put on rather than just a paper covering. So, there are those types of questions. Some of the questions I get are about handling bed bugs, and infection precautions—whether standard or transmission-based precautions. I also get a lot of questions about linen, such as how to keep it clean and what products are used.

Many people think we just put linen in large commercial washing machines, take it out by hand, and put it into a dryer—just like at home. But it’s really about showing them our process, inviting them for a plant tour, and letting them see the chemical system we use to ensure each item meets strict cleanliness standards.

They can see the massive tunnel washers—about the size of a bus—where heat, agitation, time, and chemicals work together to clean effectively. When rounding in hospitals, I often hear, "Our linen is so soiled; we know you don’t want it back or can't get it clean." But I always reassure them that we want it back, and we can get it clean.

Lang: The two questions I hear most often are: "Is it clean and safe?" and "What detergent do you use?"

These questions give us the opportunity to explain our process—how our tunnel washers work, how chemicals are precisely injected, and how we ensure the right mix for each type of linen.

Another important point is certification. After processing, we verify and validate our methods through third-party inspections and testing. This is something we'll cover in our webinar series, focusing on the Hygienically Clean Certification program from TRSA, which ensures compliance with strict quality standards.

The detergent question also allows us to emphasize that it’s not just throwing in a scoop of Tide. We use a range of specialized chemicals, each serving a specific function at different stages of the wash cycle. It’s all finely tuned to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness.

These types of questions are great because they allow us to highlight the sophistication of our process.

Wider: Now, let’s shift to the webinar series. You're hosting an educational series on healthcare textiles and infection prevention. Can you give us a high-level overview and explain who should attend?

Lang: It’s a three-part series. The first part is titled Mastering Laundry Inspections: A Best Practices Checklist for Infection Preventionists. Dyan mentioned inviting infection preventionists and other healthcare professionals for facility tours, so this webinar will walk them through the process—what they should look for and what questions they should ask when visiting a commercial laundry. It lays the foundation by explaining how our processes work so that infection preventionists and healthcare workers fully understand them.

The second part covers a critical issue—home laundering of facility-provided scrubs.

Troxel: The second is titled The Risks of Home Laundering Facility-Provided Scrubs.. I used to work in a setting where facility-provided scrubs were required, and I found it beneficial. I didn’t have to launder them, remember to bring them back, or worry about contamination.

But many people don’t realize the risks. They assume they can wash scrubs at home with their regular laundry and be fine. However, they don’t realize that biofilm can build up inside their washing machines, contaminating future loads.

Not only is there a risk to their own health, but also to their families, the community—if they stop at a store on the way home—and to future patients if they return to work in improperly cleaned scrubs.

This is something I’m passionate about, and I was really happy to take on this second webinar.

Lang: The final webinar is titled Linen Handling Best Practices for Infection Control. Once linen arrives at a facility, the question becomes: How should it be handled properly?

That includes both clean and soiled linens. We’ll start with an overview of the wash process again—reinforcing key information. Then, we’ll discuss facility best practices, like proper hand hygiene, clean linen storage, controlled access policies, and cleaning schedules.

For soiled linen, we’ll cover best practices like:

• Collecting it properly without shaking it
• Ensuring it’s contained—bags should be tied when full
• Proper transport methods, like avoiding pressure on bags and using chutes correctly to prevent aerosolizing contaminants

This webinar series is designed to highlight key infection prevention concerns related to laundry and linens.

Wider: And who should attend?

Lang: Any healthcare worker. While there’s a focus on infection prevention and control, anyone involved in handling or using linens in patient care would benefit. That includes:

• Nurses transporting linens
• OR staff handling scrubs and gowns
• Compliance officers overseeing policy adherence

We also welcome people working in supply chain and environmental services. Really, anyone involved in the process would gain valuable insights.

What I like about the series is that while each webinar has its own focus, there’s repetition across them to reinforce key concepts. Even with different speakers, there’s a common thread tying them all together.

Wider: Any final thoughts about education on this topic?

Lang: Information sharing is a great way to build partnerships. We’re all working toward the same goal—providing clean, safe resources for patient care.

By sharing details about our processes, we strengthen our connection with the people using our linens, which ultimately benefits the patient.

It’s also an opportunity to hear from healthcare and infection prevention professionals. If they have questions, we want to answer them and help them find the information they need.

Troxel: Exactly. What I love about this webinar series is its focus on education. It’s not just a checkbox—it’s about answering real questions and creating real understanding.

Education isn’t a one-time thing; it requires reinforcement. The goal isn’t just to share knowledge—it’s to drive behavior change. And I believe that after watching this three-part series, people will be able to make meaningful changes for the better.