Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in textile services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Introduced in 2012, Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

HLAC Accreditation Standards are established as the minimum acceptable practice for the preparation of hygienically clean, reusable healthcare textiles for patient care, implemented and executed by accredited laundry facilities processing reusable healthcare textiles.

The HLAC Accreditation Standards document covers the complete textile processing cycle: from handling and transporting to laundering and finishing to customer service. Special attention has been directed to laundry processes directly related to patient safety and OSHA-required practices, including Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Standards. A Part III has been added to the Standards, addressing the surgical pack assembly room and its activities. This section is based on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Association for Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) reference regarding reusable surgical textiles processing.

Clean Green Certification recognizes companies that have operations that achieve standards for effectiveness in conserving resources and minimizing environmental impact. Clean Green certified companies have demonstrated conservation of water and energy efficiency though the adoption of best management practices (BMP’s) for reclaiming and recycling resources.

Customers who use Clean Green certified companies to supply, launder, and maintain linens and other reusable textiles can be assured their provider maximizes sustainable practices.