8 | IAHTM
LARK:
That would be correct. I think the
everyday person doesn’t even know this in-
dustry exists. It's a very niche industry, so
to speak. I think when the average person
looks at the hospital, they don’t think of the
textiles and the linens, and what has to go
to into the process of handling soiled linen,
processing it and getting it back to the hos-
pitals from an infection control and patient
care perspective. There’s a lot of chemistry
involved. There’s a lot of equipment involved
in these large cooperative plants that the lay-
man has no idea even exists. And certainly
it’s a business, it’s a large business. These co-
operatives, I’ll use mine as an example – I
service 15 hospitals, I have 145 employees –
there’s large revenue. These are organizations
that can impact hospitals and patient care, so
all of it is involved in these cooperative laun-
dries. Linen is like any other critical medical
supply – hospitals cannot operate without it.
BW: So if you’re going to choose this
industry, you chose the most complicated,
most difficult portion of this industry?
LARK:
That would be correct.
BW: Are there ever days where you roll
your eyes and wonder why can’t I be do-
ing this for a hotel chain or something like
that, or do you enjoy that more importance
is laid on yours?
LARK:
I’ve been in this industry for 18
years and I had no idea, when I walked in
the front door looking for a job, about this
particular industry. It’s very interesting, it’s
fascinating, it’s challenging. I guess for those
A-Type personalities out there, which most
of us in IAHTM are, we really enjoy that
challenge. This particular organization is
a great value for me personally and I think
to all of our members, really, because we are
such a niche industry, things are very specific
and these challenges that we all face, we have
the ability to seek each other’s counsel and
advice.
BW: Do you think the fact that the in-
dustry is as complicated as it is and every-
one shares a similar kind of burden as far as
the regulations go and requirements, does
that make it a more collective industry
than maybe similar non-healthcare related
industries might be? Is there more coop-
eration here than with the other ones?
LARK:
Yes, I think within and particu-
larly for cooperative healthcare laundries
that are members of IAHTM, yes, I would
say that’s very, very true. A study of almost
