Hospital provided uniforms

[jjkerr01]

My small community hospital is looking into the option of providing uniforms by the hospital where the hospital would launder and provide for all staff, hospital wide. I am having some trouble finding any research on the topic or evidence based literature that would address the infection control issues or argue for or against this issue. Is there anyone that has gone through this process with their hospital or has any suggestions for me? I would appreciate any help! Thanks so much!

[Babs0512]

Our hospital provides unisex scrubs for the OR and PACU staff, and the surgeons. They have a contract with a local cleaner, we put the scrubs in colored laundry bags and the local cleaner picks them up and washes them and brings them back again. The scrubs actually belong to the cleaner, not the hospital. The scrubs are always clean, pressed, and if they fall into disrepair, we "yellow" bag them and they get taken out of circulation.

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

My hospital provides scrubs, for OR, ED, L&D. I work ED and we can wear our own or the hospitals, they are nice to have on hand if your scubs become soiled.

[jjkerr01]

Our hospital is considering the standard of providing uniforms for all nurses from an infectous disease aspect. THey are thinking along the line of staff coming to work in street clothes, changing into the hospital provided and laundered scrubs (probably by a third party service). Is there any research or articles that have tackled this topic and its efficacy in the past or is there any one experienced in the process of transitioning their hospital into this type of uniform model?

[Babs0512]

I can't speak to the infection control aspect of this, except to say, the reason we do it is to REDUCE the possibility of pathogens getting to the surgical patients. So it must be accepted that these scrubs are cleaner than our own home scrubs.

I forgot, the maternity/labor and delivery also utilize scrubs provided by the hospital, for the same reasons. Except, theirs are a pretty pink, ours are bland green.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

The VA hospital I worked for did this. I imagine it is a cost or overhead issue. Perhaps the American Hospital Association might be a place to look for this information.