St. Joseph’s laundry will soon be done by a central laundry service based in Regina.
The hospital’s executive director, Greg Hoffort, said last week the switch be made June 6.
“We were one of the last to go this route,” said Hoffort, noting that other Sun Country Health Region facilities and affiliates had agreed to the centralized model earlier.
The reasoning behind the decision was based on the fact that most of the individual and regional laundry service equipment was aging and it was agreed that a more centralized model would prove to be more economical for all concerned.
“The rest of Sun Country went with the central service last fall, but we’ve just decided to join now, based on our cost analysis. Our laundry facility had reached an age where a complete overhaul would have been required. With three large (industrial) dryers and three large washing machines, the capital cost would have been more than $300,000,” said Hoffort. One of the dryers had already gone down and, just recently, one of the large washing machines joined it.
“We could see where the rest were going, so that led us to this decision,” Hoffort added.
What pleased the executive director, was the fact that no employees would lose a job as a result of the transition. Four employees (full time and part time) were affected by the move. One position will be retained since St. Joseph’s will continue to provide local laundry service for the hospital’s long-term care facility as well as for the Estevan Regional Nursing Home, a total of 110 resident beds and the corresponding personal laundry needs.
One fulltime and two part time employees are moving into housekeeping and another employee who had been involved in laundry services, has decided to retire.
“We worked closely with the union and we’re pleased to say we could accommodate them, both the employees and the union. These are exceptional people, so the process is in place to move forward with the events that will put them in their new roles. The negotiations with CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees, who represent the employees affected by the change) went well,” said Hoffort.
The cost analysis indicates the move will save St. Joseph’s about $37,000 annually.
The private company in Regina will be responsible for supplying all the materials involved in the laundry services and were helpful in working out some of the logistical glitches, said Hoffort. The company will also be responsible for ensuring that adequate laundry supplies are on hand in the event of any weather or mechanical-related issues.
Hoffort said it was always the intention of the local hospital to continue to do the laundry for the long-term care residents, so that service was never factored into the discussions and negotiations regarding the centralized services.
