It’s an ongoing “spin cycle” for Emory’s Laundry and Linen Services. The critical, round-the-clock operation cleans and disinfects over 600,000 pounds of linens every month. The service picks up soiled linens, towels, blankets, hospital gowns, scrubs and more from 12 Emory Healthcare locations, then washes, sorts and distributes the clean linens daily.

The soiled linens are collected and taken to Emory’s Laundry and Linen Distribution Center in Clarkston, where they are loaded onto large trucks and driven to Crothall Healthcare in Rome, Georgia, for washing and sanitizing at high temperatures, followed by drying and folding. Then the linens are returned to Clarkston where a staff of nearly 30 sorts the laundry into carts, based on clinic or hospital location. To minimize traffic delays and elevator usage, most drivers come in at midnight each night to deliver the clean linens back to the facilities.

Patients, families and health care providers alike benefit from Emory’s Laundry and Linen Services.

“This is basically a 24/7 operation,” says Jerry Lewis, director of Laundry and Linen Services for Emory University Hospitals and Clinics. “If you have delays on the distribution of carts, then patient care could be affected, so staying on a tight and consistent schedule is really important for our operation.”

Sindy Charles, assistant director of Laundry and Linen Services at Emory says there is a very low turnover rate with Laundry and Linen Services employees. “Our staff members take a lot of pride in their jobs, with many of them staying with us until they reach retirement,” says Charles.