System-Wide Linen Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Yield Utilization Savings & Establish Metrics Monitoring Program

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1 Case Study Title: Author: System-Wide Linen Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Yield Utilization Savings & Establish Metrics Monitoring Program J.P. Perrin Senior Textile Management Consultant BACKGROUND A member of a large health system in the Southeast region, this nonprofit, acute care facility provides emergency services, maternity care, neonatal intensive care for infants, and other specialized care to patients with cancer and heart disease. With over 600 beds, the facility is one of the largest medical centers in the region and is recognized throughout across the country for quality care, outstanding patient satisfaction and commitment to giving back to the community. In 2015 the Health System s Materials Management team established linen standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be adhered to at each of the facilities within the system. The SOPs included the following linen initiatives for each facility: Universal linen management policies & procedures Standardization & monitoring of linen metrics scorecard o Comparison to health system and national averages for facility-specific & unit-specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Maximize ControlTex linen management software utilization at each facility o Entering unit census, linen injections & discards Outline linen management goals for the future Throughout their valued partnership, Standard Textile has provided ControlTex software support and linen management consulting to the Health System. Consultants from Standard Textile met with materials management personnel to strategize the SOP rollout and provide software support and consulting during the implementation process. OBJECTIVE Over the years, the Medical Center has maintained excellent consistency and accuracy with data entry in ControlTex. Therefore, it was agreed that the facility would be the first in the Health System to take a hands-on approach with Standard Textile s Consultative Services team. Over the next several months, consultants were to assist and provide ongoing support to managers to implement and monitor components of the linen SOPs. From there, the manager would work with each facility within their Page 1

2 respective markets to ensure that proper ControlTex training was completed at each facility. Standard Textile provided support as needed for the following SOPs: Facility/Area linen PAR level management Soiled linen weight data collection Linen metrics scorecard Utilizing the Unit Cost Allocation Report in ControlTex for billing in accounting software Ensuring ControlTex functionality & reporting options are being maximized at facility o Linen usage data entry o Facility & unit census data entry o Injections & discards data entry o Unit linen utilization reports STRATEGY The strategies for implementing and supporting the standard operating procedures established by the Health System for the Medical Center are outlined below. Consultants from Standard Textile worked extensively with linen distribution staff at the facility throughout 2015 to support the SOPs. Facility/Area Linen PAR Level Management: Standard Textile worked with linen managers on site to ensure that cart standards and closet stock levels best reflect patient population for that area. The SOPs for managing PAR level changes were established and communicated with staff. Increase Cart/Closet Standards: 1. Phone logs are totaled monthly to identify areas with greatest number of calls. 2. High volume call areas are sorted to find items that are requested the most. 3. Monthly utilization reports (Item Usage Summary Report, Distribution Point Usage and Cost Summary Report, and Multiple Facility Area Summary Report) are pulled from ControlTex and compared to standards assigned to that unit. Decrease Cart/Closet Standards: 1. Monthly utilization reports (Item Usage Summary Report, Distribution Point Usage and Cost Summary Report, and Multiple Facility Area Summary Report) are pulled from ControlTex are run quarterly. 2. Current standards are compared to monthly average usage by item. 3. Linen Distribution staff recognition of unused product on cart or in closet. Page 2

3 Soiled Linen Weight Data Collection: As part of the new SOPs, soiled linen is to be weighed and recorded at the facility prior to transport to laundry. This information is to be logged in the linen scorecard monthly, and the information is used by the Health System when evaluating soil-to-clean ratios and linen loss at the facility. Linen Metrics Scorecard: The linen scorecard is to be completed by each facility by the 10 th of each month. The metrics to be recorded include: laundry invoice totals, linen acquisition costs, clean weight from laundry invoice (not including surgical items), soiled weight, facility patient days, and facility adjusted patient days. The linen scorecard would then be used to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by facility and submitted to Materials Management each month for review. *Pounds per Adjusted Patient Day output from Linen KPI Scorecard 2017 Unit Cost Allocation Report from ControlTex for Billing : Linen distribution managers were trained to run the Unit Cost Allocation report from ControlTex to be used in an accounting export. Each department within the Health System will be held accountable for linen usage and invoiced accordingly. Maximizing ControlTex Functionality & Reporting to Manage Supply Chain: Standard Textile installed Wi-Fi enabled handheld devices to be used for ControlTex data entry at the facility. The units increase linen utilization data entry efficiencies and establish accountability in the linen department. The functionality allows the Medical Center to run reports that provide a total number of carts built, pieces loaded, and total Page 3

4 weight, all by area with corresponding time stamps. This information will assist in developing baseline productivity measures and monitor performance by FTE within the linen distribution department. In addition to supporting hardware to improve data entry efficiencies, Standard Textile also ensured that proper training was provided for census (activity) data entry in ControlTex. Unit-specific census information is provided to linen managers, and census-based unit reports are generated and distributed to unit nursing managers by the 18 th of each month. Training was also provided for injection and discard data entry in the software in preparation for future physical linen inventories. RESULTS With the successful implementation and continued support of the above standard operating procedures, the Medical Center and the Health System can better manage their linen supply chain, improve service quality, and make data-driven decisions as a result of maximizing ControlTex software capabilities and monitoring KPIs. Improvements in Linen Supply Chain With a renewed focus on data integrity, linen managers can utilize information from ControlTex to provide the right product, at the right locations, in the correct quantities, and at the right time all while keeping utilization costs at a minimum to provide the best patient care possible. Improving Customer Service- High customer services levels have been achieved utilizing ControlTex census-based reporting to manage cart & closet stocking levels. This ensures that each unit has customized standards based on unit type and activity, improving service with significantly less calls for extra linen. Data Integrity With reliable utilization, activity (census), and inventory information, the facility is now able to closely monitor key utilization metrics by unit. Furthermore, it has allowed materials management to establish a line of communication with nursing managers to streamline the flow of census-based utilization, costs, and benchmarking information. The linen metrics scorecard allows the facility to monitor and compare performance across the system and to national averages. Other benefits provided by the standard operating procedures: Accountability Linen managers are now incentivized on managing linenrelated costs and reducing utilization. Productivity Individual logins on the Wi-Fi enabled handhelds give linen managers the ability to monitor linen distribution productivity by FTE. Page 4

5 Monitoring Area Linen Utilization Compared to National Averages Management communicates pounds per patient activity and item usage per patient activity to each unit along with potential cost-savings opportunities. Sample Unit Output from Linen KPI report Utilization Savings The Medical Center reduced total Pounds per Adjusted Patient Day from in FY 2015 to 8.74 in This 16.5% improvement over a two-year period yielded roughly $144,000 in processing savings. CONCLUSION As demonstrated herein, establishing standard operating procedures within your linen supply chain yields measurable benefits. Also, by diligently monitoring linen key performance indicators and ControlTex software reporting, linen managers can establish programs aimed at communication, education, and improving distribution to the linen end users. Page 5