October 30, 2020 – Three Michigan-based health systems, Henry Ford Health System, Michigan Medicine and Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, recently unveiled their $48 million shared laundry facility.
The new eco-friendly facility is expected to achieve significant savings from more efficient operations and better meet the needs of these three health systems.
Located in Detroit, the facility has the capacity to annually service 78 million pounds of health care linens – scrubs, bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels and scrubs for inpatient and outpatient use – for the health systems combined.
Since opening June 1, the facility has been running two shifts over a six-day work week. At 115,000-square feet, it is one of the largest shared medical laundry facilities in the country and more than double the size of the previous laundry plant, the organizations said.
It is on track to service about 34 million pounds of laundry by year’s end. That includes a new piece of apparel – a washable medical gown that will extend the supply of a valuable piece of PPE for frontline workers. Made of polymer fabric, the gown can be washed 100 times before it needs to be discarded.