Should Hospitals Provide Medical Uniforms & Scrubs?

Workers in the healthcare industry are buzzing with questions about uniforms. That’s right, company uniforms. Outside of pay, medical workwear and nursing scrubs are one of the biggest concerns among employees in the healthcare industry. Why? Because medical uniforms directly impact employees' level of comfort, confidence, and professional appearance. Healthcare workers have taken to online forums asking questions such as:

• Does your hospital provide nursing scrubs?
• Does your hospital have mandatory uniform colors?
• Is it sanitary to change into your medical workwear at home?

How uniforms are handled in your facility can mean the difference between happy or unhappy staff. It also affects the hospital’s standards for professionalism and sanitation. However, healthcare facilities often find maintaining higher standards to be more realistic if they opt for uniform rental programs as a way to provide and manage medical workwear.

So, should your hospital provide uniforms? The short answer is YES. Here’s why:

1. Medical Uniforms Programs are a Direct Benefit to Hospital Staff

One of the most common complaints of medical workers is that they are often required to buy their own scrubs. Hospitals sometimes provide uniform stipends, but this does not typically cover the full uniform costs, and scrubs can still be expensive if they require custom embroidery.

Hospitals that implement uniform rental programs are able to provide clean uniforms daily. Many healthcare workers see this as an added benefit because it removes the burden of buying the right scrubs, keeping them clean, and preparing outfits for work. Hospital uniform rental programs keep nursing scrubs and medical workwear simple for all employees—and they’re a cost efficient solution for hospitals and employees alike.

2. Clean Fitted Scrubs Maintain Higher Standards of Professionalism

Uniform rental programs allow hospitals to better manage branding initiatives and professionalism within their facilities. When dozens of nurses are walking around in multicolored tops, it’s often difficult for patients, and sometimes even doctors, to determine a staff member’s role within the hospital hierarchy.

Clean-cut, color-coded scrubs help to establish hospital standards for professionalism and to create an image of a team your patients can trust. Best of all, with a quality uniform rental provider, you can trust that employee uniforms will look like new at the start of each day.

3. Uniform Programs Protect Employees and Patients from Contamination

Hospital facilities are meant to be clean, and uniform rental programs help to maintain that expected standard.

“Is it sanitary to take my nursing scrubs home?”

“Do you change into your scrubs at home or work?”

These frequently asked questions are valid concerns when it comes to preventing contamination in employees’ homes and the hospital. Uniform rental programs prevent employees from spreading bacteria from the workplace into their homes and also ensure employees uniforms are clean when they arrive at work.

For hospitals that provide uniforms but do their cleaning in house, it’s important that washing equipment is monitored and frequently checked for bacterial contamination or fungus. This can cause higher risks of contamination, which is why many hospitals trust a vendor for uniform cleaning services.

Implementing a Better Solution for Hospital Scrubs & Uniforms

Not all uniform rental companies are the same, so you should properly vet providers as you are choosing. You want to be sure your provider can meet your hospital’s demand for scrubs and that they have a quality reputation with other hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Clean Rental Uniforms provides nursing scrubs, doctors’ coats, and medical workwear for healthcare facilities in the Greater Philadelphia area. We serve over 10,000 businesses, including the top four pharmaceutical companies. More companies in the healthcare industry continue to choose Clean Rental over other large national providers because of our flat-rate programs and dedicated, non-sales driven service team. If you need help getting a better uniform solution for your facility or have any questions regarding medical uniform programs, reach out to our experts!