Ask the expert: On-site laundering
Q: My doctor’s office is considering doing laundry in-house rather than sending laundry to an outside contractor. Are there any OSHA rules regarding the placement of washers and dryers in a physician’s office?
A: OSHA standards and interpretations do not specifically address the placement of washers and dryers in a medical practice, but consideration should be given with regard to limiting exposure to contaminated linen, PPE, etc., by restricting access as you would with any bloodborne pathogen hazard.
On-site laundering of patient linens in a physician offices and clinics is uncommon. “To maintain the highest quality and for cost efficiencies, it is rarely recommended that linen be washed on-site,” according to Infection Control in Ambulatory Care by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
If you are going to launder on-site, follow the APIC recommendation for physically separating the soiled laundry processing area “from clean storage, patient care areas, food preparation areas, and clean supply and equipment storage areas.” Not only is this based on sound infection control concepts, it would serve you well for OSHA compliance.
Does your physician or dental practice launder on-site? If so, let us know what precautions you take in the comment section below.
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David LaHoda
David LaHoda is the managing editor of the OSHA Healthcare Advisor, the weekly ezine OSHA Healthcare Connection, Medical Environment Update, HCPro's Basic OSHA Compliance Manual Kits for medical or dental practices, and the OSHA online training materials for ambulatory healthcare facilities.
David has written 792 posts.
Comments
The facility I work for does onsite laundry. We cannot meet the water temperature requirements in the CDC guidelines, therefore; we add chlorine bleach to all loads. There has been color fade issues and I am looking for guidance for / or against using color safe “oxy” bleach. Any information is appreciated.
Dental office: Laundry: PPE (scurbs/lab coats). Our in-house apartment size washer only has a cold/cold cycle and we have been unable to find an apartment size washer with a hot/hot cycle. Is there an OSHA fine for this situation?
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