Cleanlink News October 29 2009
Survey: Laundry, Maintenance & Housekeeping Most Outsourced
Laundry services held the top spot among hospital department contracts in 2008 for a third straight year, according to the 31st annual Outsourcing Survey produced by Modern Healthcare. Contracts for laundry services, clinical/diagnostic equipment maintenance, and housekeeping services represented nearly 63% of healthcare contracts last year, based on the responses of outsourcing companies that participated in the magazine’s voluntary survey.
They accounted for a combined 13,877 healthcare clients last year, up approximately 4.9% from 13,223 reported for 2007, based on same-firm comparisons. While remaining the department that was most outsourced, the number of laundry contracts rose only 0.9% in 2008 to include 7,986 healthcare facilities. Clinical/diagnostic equipment maintenance increased 18.8% to 2,959 facilities. Housekeeping was a close third, increasing 5.7% to 2,932 facilities. Food service, which was third in last year’s survey, was fifth with 1,196 facilities served in 2008.
Overall, the total number of facilities in the top 20 hospital department management categories grew approximately 9.2%, from 20,679 in 2007 to 22,587 in 2008.
Modern Healthcare’s survey provides an “unscientific snapshot of trends reported by companies that provide on-site management to hospitals, long-term-care facilities, and alternate sites such as clinics and physician group practices,” writes reporter Joe Carlson.
Fifty-one companies responded this year, compared to 52 in 2008. Full survey results appeared in Modern Healthcare’s Sept. 28 issue.
As seen in American Laundry News.
