Sample book with community resources insert
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From humble beginnings as the Hendrick<br />
Medical Center laundry department operating<br />
out of the hospital basement, to today’s full-scale<br />
commercial laundry business servicing seventyfive<br />
facilities in a 250-mile radius, Texas<br />
Healthcare Linen (THL) is a great success story<br />
for Abilene.<br />
Built in 2011 as a partnership between<br />
Hendrick Medical Center, Midland Memorial<br />
Hospital and Medical Center Hospital in Odessa,<br />
THL was created to provide laundry and linen<br />
services specifically for healthcare facilities in the<br />
West Central Texas region. Today, THL ships<br />
nearly14 million pounds of clean linen annually<br />
from the 48,000 square-foot state-of-the-art<br />
facility on Arnold Boulevard.<br />
How? Specialized, automated equipment help the production<br />
team sort the soiled linen, wash it, and then fold the<br />
clean linen to be put back into carts and delivered to customers<br />
via transport truck. THL operates a fleet of seven<br />
trucks <strong>with</strong> eight CDL drivers to deliver clean linen and pick<br />
up soiled linen. Within the plant, an overhead rail system<br />
helps transport goods from one area to the next to minimize<br />
touchpoints and increase efficiency.<br />
THL’s industrial washers put out forty-four loads of linen<br />
per hour, and the industrial folding machines allow THL to<br />
ship out thousands of items per day, to the tune of 2.6 million<br />
flat sheets annually, just to give an example. Because of<br />
the high demand for goods, efficiency is important, which is<br />
why the production floor maintains an average productivity<br />
rate of 130 pounds per operator hour.<br />
THL’s service area spans over 400 miles from tip to tip and<br />
serves hospitals in Odessa, Lubbock, Greenville (DFW), San<br />
Angelo and almost everywhere in between. With a total<br />
employee base of more than seventy dedicated Abilenians,<br />
THL still has plans to continue expanding its customer base<br />
<strong>with</strong> a mission of providing the highest quality healthcare<br />
linen <strong>with</strong> exceptional service in the most responsible way.<br />
THL holds two certifications from the Textile Rental<br />
Service Association (TRSA). The Hygienically Clean certification<br />
ensures that the facility meets best management practices<br />
as verified by third-party inspection of the plant, as well<br />
as ongoing third-party bacteriological linen testing.<br />
THL also holds TRSA’s Clean Green certification, which<br />
recognizes laundries that demonstrate responsible leadership<br />
in sustainability and conservation. THL recycles its plastics<br />
and cardboard, reclaims heat where possible to be redistributed<br />
for creating steam, and uses state-of-the art equipment<br />
designed to conserve utilities and minimize waste.<br />
THL also gives back to the <strong>community</strong> by donating linens<br />
to various charities such as Love and Care Ministries, Baptist<br />
Social Ministries and the annual barbecue held for active and<br />
retired military.<br />
For additional information, visit their website at<br />
www.thlinen.com.<br />
TEXAS HEALTHCARE LINEN<br />
Above: The Texas Healthcare Linen clean side production floor includes an<br />
overhead rail system, which transports clean linens to operators who feed<br />
items into industrial folding machines. Once folded, the linen is put into<br />
transport carts to be shipped out to hospitals.<br />
Below: The 48,000 square-foot facility at 1349 North Arnold Boulevard in<br />
Abilene was completed in May 2011 and services hospitals all over the west<br />
central Texas region.<br />
THE MARKETPLACE<br />
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