St. Louis, MO -- (SBWire) -- 10/30/2015 --In June, Infection Prevention Today released the results of a survey of healthcare providers that asked both C-suite executives and infection preventionists about how their facilities tackled environmental hygiene. The report, authored by Kelly M. Pyrek, noted that the improvement of environmental hygiene in the service of preventing hospital-acquired infections is a priority; however, respondents perceive major challenges to their goals. ImageFIRST St. Louis, Missouri's premier provider of medical linens and laundry services, offers sanitized linen to help facilities meets their infection prevention goals.

In response to the question, "Do you that your hospital [or] healthcare system's environmental services department is adequately funded, staffed and resourced in order to be effective [against the spread of infection]?," over half of respondents in the C-suite answered no, and an even greater number of Infection Perfectionists also answered in the negative, as well.

A second question, asked of infection preventionists, further confirmed that a perceived lack of resources is a pressing issue for healthcare facilities concerned with environmental hygiene. When asked, "What is the most significant challenge you perceive relating to achieving optimal environmental hygiene in your hospital/healthcare system?," 51% of respondents cited lack of staff and resources.

Better leveraging existing vendor partners is one effective way that infection prevention teams can bolster their environmental hygiene strategy, suggests ImageFIRST St. Louis. By making vendors like ImageFIRST part of their environmental hygiene improvement efforts, healthcare facilities can get more value out of an existing service.

Healthcare facilities can prevent hospital-acquired infections with safe, sanitized ImageFIRST products like gowns, sheets, pillowcases and uniforms. The ImageFIRST difference lets healthcare facilities show their patients how much they care about them by delivering linen with quality they can see and feel. Plus, each ImageFIRST item undergoes a Triple BioShield Protection® process that sanitizes linen and gowns and kills up to 99.999% of pathogens. This process, which includes a special softener that prevents further contamination even while the linen is being used, doesn't just render linen hygienically clean but fully sanitizes each product. Each item is delivered in plastic wrap for further protection, in accordance with OSHA regulations, and products are tested quarterly by an independent laboratory to ensure that hygiene standards are maintained.

To learn more about how incorporating medical linen from ImageFIRST St. Louis can support environmental hygiene efforts at healthcare facilities, visit http://st-louis.imagefirst.com

About ImageFIRST
Founded in 1967, ImageFIRST is the largest and fastest growing national linen rental and laundry service specializing in the outpatient medical market. ImageFIRST's 36 locations nationwide serve over 5,500 medical offices every week, providing linen, patient gowns, scrubs and much more while partnering with facilities to better manage linen inventory. With a customer retention rate of over 95%, ImageFIRST is dedicated to improving patient satisfaction through quality linens and remarkable service: their Comfort Care gowns product line increases patients' favorable perception of a facility by more than 50%.

For more information about ImageFIRST St. Louis, the cost-effective solution for greater patient satisfaction, please visit
http://st-louis.imagefirst.com