Seattle, WA -- (SBWire) -- 06/10/2016 --As patients migrate more towards outpatient settings, healthcare-associated infections have cropped up at greater rates in these facilities. These infection outbreaks have been known to be due in lapses in infection prevention, but otherwise not much is known about the overall status of infection prevention. A 2014 study reported in the American Journal of Infection Control sought to develop a better understanding of how closely these procedures were being followed during medical student rotation at 15 outpatient care facilities in New Mexico. ImageFIRST, a provider of sanitized medical uniforms in Seattle, WA (and beyond), has shared the results with customers to help them make better-informed decisions about infection prevention at their facilities.

Overall, the study discovered areas of needed improvement in infection prevention procedures. Alcohol disinfection of medical vial rubber septums was observed the majority of the time (78.4%) in 163 injections. However, the occurrence of hand-washing procedures was notably more lax: Out of 333 hand hygiene observations, alcohol handrub was used 33.9% of the time, and soap and water were used 29.1% of the time. 37% of the time, no hand hygiene was used.

These findings, concluded the article, indicate that outpatient facilities needs quality improvement in infection prevention programs and practices, including hand hygiene and injection safety. The article's authors suggested that self-report and behavior observation is one improvement method, and also suggested that medical students can share quality improvement measures during rotations. Additionally, healthcare facilities can collaborate with public health officials to improve healthcare provider education.

ImageFIRST shares this information because the provider of healthcare uniforms in Seattle, WA (and beyond) is dedicated to helping healthcare facilities halt the spread of infection. With products that undergo a Triple BioShield sanitization process each time they are washed, ImageFIRST helps outpatient and inpatient facilities pursue their infection prevention goals. Learn more at http://seattle.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 Seattle, the cost-effective solution for greater patient satisfaction, please visit http://seattle.imagefirst.com.