120 | Business World Magazine |
March 2014
hospitality laundry or maybe a Cintas that
focuses on walk-off mats, does not have the
chemistry, temperature, exposure time and
the biohazard or infection control consider-
ations that a healthcare laundry has to man-
age.
“There are processes all the way through
the finish, the packaging, and transportation
back to the hospital – in a fashion that facili-
tates the level of hygienically pure state that
is required for healthcare.”
Business World contacted Lark as part of
a continuing look at the healthcare industry
and the many elements that operate within
it. She discussed the history of her organiza-
tion, some of the unique challenges of the
sector and some things that may impact the
future.
BUSINESS WORLD: Can you give a
sense of your knowledge of what led to the
creation of IAHTM, why people felt it was
necessary and how it’s evolved since then?
DEBORAH LARK:
Back in the 60s, it
was really when large cooperative healthcare
laundries started to form. Prior to this time
period, hospitals around the U.S. and Cana-
da had what we called OPLs or on premise
laundries that were very inefficient. Hospital
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