8 | Shared Hospital Services
er says the healthcare organizations his laun-
dry serves are currently conducting trials
with new linens called DermaTherapy. Com-
prised by special fibers that resist moisture,
the material is very soft and used in conjunc-
tion with patients afflicted with skin condi-
tions such as eczema or psoriasis. The trials
are helping to determine whether the fabric
can help reduce instances leading to bedsores
or linen-induced breakdowns in skin. As the
patient benefit of DermaTherapy is reviewed,
there’s no question that the material impacts
laundry processes. Because of its weight
and composition, the fabric can’t be accom-
modated by current systems. The materials
don’t process through the tunnel system and
washers & dryers have to be under-loaded,
and hand-folded. Smoyer says his research
indicates similarly styled new innovations in
textiles have diminished production capac-
ity up to 30 percent at other laundries. The
question remains as to whether diminished
efficiency will be offset by savings in treat-
ing (or reducing need for treatment) of skin
wounds. To accommodate these new fabric
innovations, the laundry has recently invest-
ed in new equipment that will allow for spe-
cial processing. While Smoyer is suspect of
