Textile Rental最新文献

The healthcare market doesn't just mean hospitals anymore. For some textile rental operators, doctors' offices and medical clinics are a profitable and growing niche. On the positive side, this market offers growth, low abuse, good prices, and light soil. But operators also must weigh the cons--scattered deliveries, low volume, small stops, and medical waste management. Is the "other" healthcare market for you?

There's no question that medical waste pushes the nation's panic button. It took only two summers (1987 and 1988) of needles and syringes washing ashore to generate a groundswell of public anxiety that caused Congress to pass the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988. The act was the federal government's first attempt at cradle to grave waste management through a two-year pilot program involving four states and Puerto Rico. Now that the act and the pilot program have expired, Congress must evaluate their impact and decide whether to pursue a national medical waste policy. Such a policy likely would address the work practices of occupational groups, such as laundry workers, who frequently have contact with medical waste.

Textile rental companies are poised on the edge of a boom in the healthcare marketplace. The detonator is outpatient care. Between 1984 and 1990, outpatient visits increased from almost 233 million to more than 310 million, or about 33 percent. The shift from traditional hospital care to outpatient or ambulatory service is creating a new market opportunity for textile rental services. Innovative medical services are cropping up in suburban malls and neighborhoods, and demand is high for high-quality linen supply or contract laundry services.

Congress is putting pressure on OSHA to finalize its Universal Precaution standards by December. When the standards go into effect, textile rental companies that serve medical, dental, and outpatient care facilities--including private physician and dentist offices--must take steps to protect employees from blood-borne pathogens. Soiled linens, towels, gowns, and other items from any customer in risk categories link a textile rental facility and/or commercial laundry with the OSHA regulations. Read and heed this information.

As Congress writes aggressive wastewater laws and EPA tightens its regulatory grip, the question of whether to fight or compromise becomes even more pressing for the textile rental industry. As Congress moves forward on the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, EPA's authority to issue pretreatment standards could be greatly strengthened. Categorical pretreatment standards would set national limits on the concentrations of various pollutants that are being discharged to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). As EPA lays out its recommendations to Congress, perhaps it's time for the textile rental industry to reevaluate its position on categorical standards.

With local wastewater disposal regulations varying from nonexistent to nightmarish, operators must choose the method of treatment that best suits their needs. Various types of wastewater pretreatment equipment and processes are currently used in rental and commercial laundries. Here's information on systems ranging from simple settling pits and screens to sophisticated membrane filtration systems.

Growth exceeding Gross National Product (GNP), strong competition, ongoing consolidation, and improving profitability--trends that have characterized the textile rental industry throughout the 1980s--continued in 1990. And despite a recession in the latter part of the year, the trends appear to be indicative of the decade ahead. The compelling question for the industry and the country is whether or not the recession is over, also unclear is the rate of recovery that can be anticipated. Economic assumptions, developed jointly by the Council of Economic Advisers, the U.S. Treasury, and Office of Management and Budget, show a resumption of economic growth in the latter half of 1991 with the pace accelerating into 1992. Real GNP growth is predicted to become about three percent annually by 1995-96, and to be accompanied by gradual declines in inflation and interest rates. This annual strategic analysis by TRSA officers and staff offers insights into industry trends as well as the issues affecting customers and the market place.