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Uniform vs Linen: What Healthcare Facilities Should Expect from Each Service

• September 21, 2025
• Recent News
• Century Linen Services

Every healthcare facility knows the drill: you need clean scrubs, fresh bed linens, and patient gowns that actually fit. But when you’re evaluating service providers, it helps to understand what each type of service does best. 

Uniform services focus on getting your staff properly dressed and ready to work. Linen services handle everything else—from patient bedding to surgical drapes. Most successful facilities don’t pick one or the other. They use both services because they solve different problems. 

Century Linen & Uniform has been working with medical facilities since 1915. We’ve learned that the best outcomes happen when healthcare providers understand exactly what they’re getting from each service and how they work together to keep operations running smoothly. 

Here’s what you should expect from each service and why most facilities benefit from both. 

Understanding Healthcare Uniform Service 

A healthcare uniform service focuses on the apparel your staff wears on the job. This includes items such as scrubs, lab coats, warm-up jackets, and other garments that identify employees and protect them during their work. 

Uniforms do more than provide a professional image. They are part of infection control, helping prevent cross-contamination between staff, patients, and different areas of the facility. Our service team cleans every garment to healthcare standards, repairs it when it shows damage, and replaces it as soon as it wears out. 

Century’s uniform rental program offers several advantages: 

• No upfront cost: Facilities avoid the large investment of purchasing uniforms outright.
   

• Weekly pickup and delivery: Staff always have clean uniforms on hand.
   

• Repairs and replacements included: Garments are monitored and maintained without additional effort from the client.
   

• RFID tracking available: In some programs, garments are equipped with tracking chips to prevent loss and improve accountability.
   

• Customer portal access: Clients can view usage reports, place orders, and monitor inventory at any time. 

By outsourcing uniforms, healthcare teams free themselves from the burden of managing laundry in-house. Staff members show up to work confident they will have clean, professional attire every day. 

Understanding Healthcare Linen Service 

A linen service covers all the textiles used directly by patients and within care settings. This includes flat sheets, fitted sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels, washcloths, patient gowns, and surgical linens. Unlike uniforms, these items are constantly in contact with patients and therefore play a direct role in comfort, satisfaction, and infection prevention. 

Century Linen & Uniform provides healthcare linens through a rental model. Facilities exchange soiled items for clean ones each week, following strict par levels to guarantee that stock never runs out.  

Key expectations from a healthcare linen service include: 

• Hygienic processing: Items are cleaned in dedicated healthcare facilities that meet TSRA certification standards.
   

• Patient comfort: Textiles are selected for softness, durability, and consistent quality.
   

• Infection control: Processes are designed to remove pathogens and prevent cross-contamination.
   

• Cost predictability: Facilities pay a regular service fee instead of facing fluctuating purchasing and laundering costs.
   

• Environmental responsibility: Century follows Clean Green Certified practices, conserving water, reducing energy use, and limiting waste. 

Comparing Healthcare Uniform Service vs Linen Service 

While both services provide textiles, the goals they meet are distinct. A healthcare uniform service vs linen service comparison reveals how they fit together: 

• Primary users: Uniform services focus on staff, while linen services focus on patients.
   

• Main benefit: Uniforms ensure professionalism and infection control for employees. Linens enhance comfort, hygiene, and safety for patients.
   

• Operational impact: Uniforms create consistency in staff appearance and readiness. Linens ensure patient areas remain fully stocked and hygienically clean.
   

• Compliance support: Both services help facilities meet standards for cleanliness and safety, but through different touchpoints. 

Healthcare facilities benefit most when both services are integrated into one streamlined program. This reduces the number of vendors, consolidates billing, and ensures that every textile in the facility, from the doctor’s coat to the patient’s blanket, meets the same high standard. 

What Facilities Should Expect from Century Linen & Uniform 

Century Linen & Uniform brings more than 100 years of experience to both uniform and linen programs. Their services are designed specifically for healthcare environments, which means clients can expect: 

• Certified hygienic cleaning: Every item is processed in a facility inspected by third-party infection control experts.
   

• Dependable delivery: A large fleet and multiple plants ensure backup support is always available.
   

• Proactive account management: Dedicated Service Managers monitor each account, replace worn items, and provide regular reviews.
   

• Technology integration: Clients use a 24/7 portal to track usage, manage orders, and control inventory.
   

• Cost control: Shared Savings Programs help reduce linen loss, returning value directly to the facility. 

The result is a comprehensive program that strengthens infection control, boosts patient satisfaction, and helps staff maintain a professional image. It reflects Century’s commitment to innovating with technology while delivering with care. 

Why Both Services Matter 

Healthcare cannot function without clean linens for patients or uniforms for staff. Each contributes to infection control, but in different ways. Linens protect patient safety and comfort, while uniforms ensure staff can perform their work with confidence and professionalism. 

Facilities that rely on Century Linen & Uniform gain both, supported by a single provider with deep expertise in healthcare. This partnership ensures that every aspect of textile management contributes to the overall mission of safe, efficient, and compassionate care. 

Ready to Simplify Linen and Uniform Management? 

Managing uniforms and linens in-house places a heavy burden on staff and creates risks of shortages, higher costs, and compliance issues. Partnering with a trusted provider makes the process easier, more reliable, and more cost-effective. 

Call us today to request a free quote and see how Century can support your facility with both healthcare uniform service and linen service programs.