38 - Wednesday, April 10, 1985 - North Shore News

18,000 POUNDS A DAY

DOES THE FAMILY laun-
dry seem endless? Every day
the same tewels and bed linen
and jeans and shirts and soc-
cer shorts over and over
again.

According to statistics
compilers, the average

(although a liule difficult to
envision) Canadian family of

~ 3.5 people washes eight loads
of laundry a week and the
average family washer holds
about cight pounds of dry
dirty clothes.

Now if that seems endless,
consider the Lions Gate
Hospital laundry. Today they
wasted 18,000 pounds of dir-
ty Jaundry. Tomorrow they
will wash another 18,000
pounds. tt adds up to more

“ than 6,000,000 pounds of dir-
ty laundry a year.

Mind you, the Lions Gate
Hospital washers are a bit
bigger than your family
washer. Each of the huge
Braun washer/extractors can
take 800 pounds of laundry
distributed between six com-
partments — 800 pounds of
dry laundry translates into
about 3,000 pounds of wet
laundry so an unblanced load
could set up quite a vibra-

full

about three pounds of deter-
gem and 12,090 gallons of
water. '

And if you hate ironing,
think about ironing 4,300
sheets and bedspreads a day
— 3,000 miles of them in a
year. Or sorting aad folding

510 miles of towels. That will
give you the washday blues.

Of course you wouldn't be
“coping with this mountain of

dirty Jaundry all on your
own. The Lions Gate
Hospital laundry has 64.5
time equivalent
employees (now you know
where that .5 average Cana-
dian works) atid they are do-
ing *he wash for three other
hospitals as well as Lions
Gate Hospital.

Lions. Gate Hospital
pioneered the central laundry
concept in B.C. in 1969 and
now supplies a full linen ser-
vice to Burnaby Hospital,
Sunnyhill Hospital and Dog-
wood Lodge.

The hospitals benefit from
the use of a central laundry
because the huge volume of
detergents and chemicals and
replacement finens and uni-
forms ordered from suppliers
lowers the costs.

benefits because as a regional
service the !aundry equip-
ment is funded by the Greater
Vancouver Regional Hospital
District and doesn't come out
of Lions Gate Hospital's
equipment budget, freeing up
funds for other badly needed

equipment. And the North
Shore benetits because the
jaundry provides jobs in the
communily,

Dirty iinen is big business,
says Bill Earland, Director of
Linen Services at Lions Gate
Hospital. His department

~ At LGH there’s always another load of

handles the ordering.
washing, froning, and men-
ding of all the tinen and uni-
forms for the four hospitals
and packs operating room
bundles for two hospitals.
The monthly bill to just
one of Lions Gate Hospital's
customers runs more than
$109,000. This calls for con-
tinual upgrading and
modernizing of equipment
and methods. Sheets and
other large flat items are fed
into huge flatironers that
press and fold, polyester uni-

laundry |

forms are processed in steam
cabinets, laundry carts roll
through a miniature car wash
that leaves then: germ free.
And last’ year Lions Gate
Hospital became the first
laundry in Canada to compu-
terize is huge Braun washers.

Each washer has a micro-
computer that allows the
operator to select a program
that controls the water level
and temperature, detergent
and additives. Th balance,
types und number of rinse
cycles,

|
Specials
DAFFODILS 10 tor 69°

| FREESIA

with fern

CARNATIONS

with fern

Sin? he

$2 99

for

Sorry — no delivery on these items

,_WEST VAN FLORIST

1821 Marine Drive, West Vancouver.

922-4171

moat

922-3968

tion. A load this size takes Lions Gate Hospital

INTRODUCING

E. TRASOLINI POOL CONST.

FROM THE CARVERY...
INCLUDES FRESH VEGETABLES,
POTATO, FRESH BAKED SouRPOUGH
BREAD-CR Youre CHOICE OF A
VARICTY OF SPECIALLY PREPARED ENTREES,

ED TRASOLINI

President

MON: SAT 4:00 - ©: OOFM. SUN, NOON-@:00PM.

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