March 17, 1987
VA HANDBOOK 7610 (408)
CHAPTER 408. VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION - ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SERVICE
LAUNDRY AND LINEN OPERATION
1. APPROVAL OF CRITERIA
Criteria approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on March 17, 1987.
2. DEFINITION AND SCOPE
a. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) laundry is responsible for providing an adequate, constant, and clean supply
of linen to all users. The basic tasks include: sorting, weighing, washing, ironing, tumbling (drying), folding, mending,
marking, and delivery. The laundry is usually responsible for the preparation of surgical linen packs which involves the
inspection of linen, mending, fabrication of specialized linen items, and the make -up of the linen packs. As a part of the Patient
Assistance Program, patient clothing is washed processed through the laundry.
b. Laundries are classified as either individual or consolidated. The individual laundry provides service only to the
medical center where it is located. The laundry can be constructed as part of the medical center structure or can be separate
building. The consolidated laundry serves more than one medical center. It is not essential for consolidated laundries to be
located at a medical center site.
c. All medical centers, with or without laundries, will be provided Linen Support Areas. (Par. 4c)
d. For major/minor projects, laundry equipment is selected by VHA Environmental Management Service, Textile Care
Division, through an equipment contractor. The equipment contractor is responsible for providing working drawings as well
as for the installation of equipment. Funding for the equipment contract is part of the construction appropriation for major
projects. All other projects receive funding from the VHA laundry equipment account (replacement).
e. Environmental Management Service calculates the projected capacity for laundries based upon historical data and the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)/GAO bed model projections. Site specific historical data is utilized to calculate the
number of pounds per bed by category per day (365). These figures are multiplied by the number of projected beds to obtain
the estimated annual pounds of linen. Similar calculations are performed to obtain the annual poundage for the miscellaneous
categories of linen, for example: administration, clinics.
3. PROGRAM DATA REQUIRED
a. Is the laundry to be located within the medical center structure?
b. Staffing projections for the laundry by category and percentage of men and women.
c. The number of FTEs issued uniforms.
d. Projected annual pounds of linen to be processed.
e. Is the laundry classified as individual or consolidated?
f. Are dispatch and receiving docks required?
g. Are surgical linen packs prepared in the laundry?
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