People's Daily | Tribute to the Anti-Epidemic Laundry Workers
Release Time:
2020-04-02 16:56
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Ordinary Position, Extraordinary Contribution
"If your work clothes get wet, just change them, I'll collect them all!" Since the Spring Festival, employee Zheng Xiumei of Kiwi Public Textile Service (Jingzhou) Co., Ltd. has been fully engaged at Hubei Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine: collecting work clothes from each department, packing and organizing them, and promptly distributing clean textiles. Because the elevator is used as a special passage, she carries loads up and down the stairs every day. "Medical staff work hard to rescue patients, and after a busy day, their work clothes get wet and dry repeatedly. I just want them to be able to change into clean and comfortable work clothes every day." Zheng Xiumei's words are simple yet powerful.
Ordinary position, extraordinary contribution. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, medical laundry companies across the country have been washing and disinfecting soiled and infectious textiles sent from hospitals. "Medical laundry companies, as an important part of the logistics support for medical and health institutions, provide services for the daily operation of hospitals. Like medical staff, they are close to the virus but do not retreat, being the unsung heroes behind the scenes," said Pan Wei, director of the China Commercial Federation's Laundry Professional Committee.
An Indispensable Part of the Battle Against the Epidemic
"I usually live in the warehouse provided by the hospital, and when busy, I don't even have time to rest." Li Meili, 50 years old, is Zheng Xiumei's colleague and has been responsible for the fabric receiving and dispatching work at Wuhan Third Hospital for two years. Due to staff shortages during the epidemic, Li Meili starts work early every day.
Kiwi Public Textile Service (Jingzhou) Co., Ltd. undertakes the washing and disinfection of more than 40,000 textiles daily, mostly serving hospitals designated for COVID-19 treatment. "Each piece of fabric from the hospital undergoes pre-washing, disinfecting main wash, cleaning, neutralization, and other steps to ensure thorough cleaning and disinfection. At the same time, dirty and clean areas are separated to avoid cross-infection," explained Chairman Zou Junjie. The company also provides more than 70,000 water-soluble infection prevention medical textile disposal bags. Medical textiles to be cleaned are sealed in water-soluble disposal bags and then put into washing machines together with the bags by automated sling equipment.
"During the epidemic, medical laundry companies nationwide wash more than 4,000 tons and 6 million pieces of textiles daily on average," Pan Wei told reporters. During this period, the frequency of medical staff changing work clothes increased, along with the workload of ironing and packing. Additionally, with limited numbers returning to work in various places early on, many frontline workers have been working at full capacity since the Spring Festival.
At 3 a.m., Chen Lei, station chief of Shanghai Jingxi Medical Textile Technology Co., Ltd. at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital service station, starts his day. Since January, Chen Lei and five other colleagues have taken on the medical textile support work at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, starting work before dawn and finishing near dusk. Colleagues all say: "Washing the 'battle robes' for the fighters, no matter how busy or tired, we are willing."
"Our work looks ordinary, but it is an indispensable part of the battle against the epidemic. Whether doctors and nurses have clean work clothes to wear, and whether patients can rest assured in their beds, all depends on us!" Chen Lei also voluntarily takes on the handover of infectious textiles. Whenever the hospital needs it, he runs to respond immediately. "Everything else can wait, but curing and saving lives cannot," Chen Lei said.
Free Laundry Service for Medical Teams Supporting Hubei
"After the medical teams from various provinces moved into hotels in Hubei, could you handle the laundry tasks?" On January 24, Qiu Haiyan, chairman of Wuhan Kunteng Laundry Company, received a call from the Wuhan Development and Reform Commission and agreed immediately. From January 26, Wuhan Kunteng officially began providing linen laundry services for some medical staff staying in hotels.
"At the end of January, some medical team members contacted their hotels to see if laundry services could be provided. However, many hotels had suspended laundry services during the epidemic," said Tao Hongguang, general manager of Wuhan Kunteng Laundry Company. After understanding this need, they immediately contacted the medical teams and organized personnel to provide free laundry services. "Medical team members rushed to support Wuhan, and as Wuhan residents, we could not stand by. When we can help, we do so wholeheartedly."
Deploying Emergency Supplies
Not only washing 'battle robes' but also acting as a 'material warehouse.' During the epidemic, Jingxi Medical Textile not only undertook the washing, disinfection, and distribution of medical textiles but also donated over a thousand emergency supplies to frontline medical institutions for epidemic prevention. "The company’s warehouse has sufficient stock, including more than 34,000 medical bedding items, over 20,000 sets of uniforms, and more than 8,000 isolation gowns, which can provide emergency supplies and calls for frontline medical staff," said Zheng Yongxiang, chairman of Shanghai Jingxi Medical Textile Technology Co., Ltd.
In addition, some medical laundry companies also provide protective supplies for residential communities, schools, and other places. "From the Spring Festival until now, we have gradually purchased 8 tons of alcohol, 10 tons of 84 disinfectant, and 5,000 KN95 masks, donating them to communities, hospitals, schools, and other units in Hefei," said Li Guojing, head of Hefei Meizhijie Laundry Co., Ltd.
"At the beginning of the epidemic, with many textile manufacturing factories shut down, some medical laundry companies that previously provided rental laundry services to hospitals proactively supplied stock textiles, becoming an important source of emergency materials for hospitals to add beds and treat patients," Pan Wei explained. After the epidemic test, medical laundry companies will continue to develop toward standardization, normalization, and intelligence under the support and guidance of relevant departments, playing a greater role in epidemic prevention and control and safeguarding people's livelihood.
This article is excerpted from People's Daily
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