Resources

Waste

How much waste do hospitals produce? Recent statistics show that hospitals can generate anywhere from 25-34 lbs. per bed/per day. In a 2010 survey, 114 of the group’s member hospitals reported generating an average of 33.8 pounds. That works out to about 5.9 million tons of garbage annually, perhaps even more, considering that the hospitals surveyed already recycle or otherwise divert at least 10 percent of their waste.

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Soiled Linen

Hospitals generate around 15 pounds of soiled linen per bed, per day. Hospital laundries must deal with many types of soil loading on a continuing basis and must routinely deal with linens contaminated with blood, mucus, feces, urine, bacteria, viruses and many other organic contaminants. The medical community is very aware of how diseases are transmitted; therefore many rules governing the construction and operation of a healthcare linen facility exist.

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Clean Hospitals & Hospital Acquired Infections

Hospital acquired infections are incurred by as many as one in 20 patients admitted to hospitals, affecting more than 1.7 million patients each year and are the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. with around 100,00 people per year dying.  In the United States, the cost to treat an HAI is more than $40,000 per patient, and increasingly these costs must be absorbed by the hospital. Government agencies and many insurance companies will no longer cover the cost of treating HAIs. Changes to how hospitals are reimbursed for Medicare and Medicaid patients have cleaning staffs ramping up their cleaning efforts.

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