G&K Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: GK) a leading provider of uniforms and facility services programs, is helping healthcare providers reduce the spread of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) in their facilities. Over 2 million HAIs are reported annually in the United States and come at a high cost for patients and healthcare systems.
“Everyone has a role in infection prevention,” said Dave Euson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “G&K is proud to offer a broad range of healthcare apparel and facility services to help hospitals and clinics reduce the spread of infection in their facilities and maintain a safe environment for patients, employees and visitors.”
G&K’s service offerings help healthcare providers keep their facilities clean and reduce the spread of infections in several ways:
| 1. | Clean Uniforms – Many infections can be traced to clothing as infectious bacteria routinely contaminate lab coats and scrubs. For a period of time those bacteria can remain alive and may be passed on through incidental contact with other patients and staff members. Healthcare apparel should be handled with extreme care, washed with the highest quality detergents and sanitizers, using water hot enough to kill harmful pathogens. Washing uniforms and scrubs at home does not offer the same level of hygiene as clothing that is properly laundered through a rental uniform program. | |||
| 2. | Clean Hands – Hands can be a major carrier for germs and keeping them clean is critical in reducing the spread of disease. Healthcare employees are more likely to comply with proper hand hygiene practices when they have easy access to hygiene products. Providing a hand hygiene system also meets important CDC guidelines for facility safety. Hand soaps and sanitizers should be installed throughout the facility. The four most important areas to ensure hand hygiene are: 1) high traffic areas like entry ways and exits, elevators, and main lobbies, 2) in and outside patient and exam rooms, 3) restrooms and 4) cafeterias and break rooms. | |||
| 3. | Clean facilities – Cleaning multiple surfaces with the same mops or towels, or repeatedly using the same water or chemical mix can spread infections. It’s important for patient safety that cleaning and disinfecting of surface areas is done at the right time, in the right way, and with the right materials. Microfiber cleaning systems have been proven to remove up to 98% of bacteria and 93% of viruses from surfaces using only water¹. In addition, they are lightweight and easy to maneuver in small and confined areas. When used effectively in cleaning, they can reduce the cross contamination leading to HAIs. | |||
G&K Services provides weekly rental programs that supply healthcare facilities with the clean apparel and facility services products they need to help reduce the risk of spreading infections. G&K’s large assortment of healthcare products includes medical clothing, scrubs, lab coats and facility products such as antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers and microfiber cleaning products. G&K representatives will pick up soiled products and return them properly laundered and sanitized, as well as ensuring that hand hygiene dispensers are consistently serviced to help reduce the spread of germs, prevent cross-contamination and keep facilities clean and safe. To learn more, visit http://www.gkservices.com/healthcare.
¹ Tests performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Environmental Best Practices for Health Care Facilities: Using Microfiber Mops in Hospitals.” November 2002. Rutala W, ed. Disinfection, Sterilization, and Antisepsis. June 2006
About G&K Services, Inc.
G&K
Services, Inc. is a service-focused market leader of branded uniform and
facility services programs in the United States and Canada.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, G&K Services has 8,000
employees serving approximately 170,000 customer locations from 165
facilities in North America. G&K Services is a publicly held company
traded over the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol GK and is a
component of the Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index. For more
information visit www.gkservices.com.
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Contacts:
Jeff Huebschen, Director, Investor
Relations, 952-912-5773
Jeff.Huebschen@gkservices.com
