12VAC5-410-500. Laundry service.
A. Hospitals providing laundry service shall have adequate facilities and equipment for the safe and effective operation of such service. Those areas used for storage and handling of soiled linens shall be negatively pressurized or vented to the outside.
B. Special procedures shall be established for the handling and processing of contaminated linens.
C. All soiled linen shall be placed in closed containers prior to transportation.
D. To safeguard clean linens from cross-contamination, they shall be:
1. Transported in containers used exclusively for clean linens unless such containers are routinely and regularly sanitized before use as a clean linen transport container and shall be kept covered at all times while in transit; and
2. Stored in areas designated exclusively for this purpose.
Statutory Authority
§§ 32.1-12 and 32.1-127 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR355-33-500 § 2.34, eff. July 28, 1993; amended, Virginia Register Volume 11, Issue 8, eff. April 1, 1995; Volume 22, Issue 8, eff. January 25, 2006.