Crescent Healthcare Laundry Earns TRSA Clean Green Certification

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 30, 2012?Crescent Laundry, Davenport, IA, has been certified Clean Green by TRSA, which is leading the textile services industry to new heights in sustainability and environmental protection by establishing this international standard. Crescent has met TRSA's requirements for achieving efficiencies in water and energy conservation and adopting best management practices for reusing, reclaiming and recycling resources.

Crescent Laundry is one of the first five laundry processing companies in the country to qualify for the certification.

The certification gives Crescent's business-to-business customers third-party verification that the sheets, towels, uniforms, and other reusable textiles they procure from the company are laundered in an environmentally friendly manner.

"Contracting with Crescent for textile services is a statement of conscientiousness about natural resources and a commitment to sustainability," stated Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. "Choosing a Clean Green laundry is part of managing a supply chain with maximum environmental protection in mind."

More business owners and operators are modifying their production technologies, processes and work habits to improve efficiency and conserve supplies, Ricci observed. "Clean Green prompts them to consider how their choices of outsourced functions such as laundry affect their total environmental impact," he added.

Businesses that opt for work uniform rental service and linen supply from textile services companies?as opposed to assigning staff to wash work clothes at home or using smaller on-premises or commercial laundries for linens?have chosen the superior route for minimizing natural resources depletion.

TRSA's new certification helps organizations find the best choices in this respect. Laundry facilities such as Crescent's with the highest-speed, largest-capacity equipment are most likely to exceed Clean Green standards due to such machinery's energy and water efficiencies. Just as important, because these industrial-scale laundries have hundreds or even thousands of customers, these facilities are large enough to economically deploy the latest technologies for removing pollutants, recovering heat, reusing rinse water and other resource-saving functions.

Based in Davenport, Crescent serves Eastern Iowa and Western and Central Illinois health care providers, including acute care, outpatient care and long-term care facilities. Crescent processes more than 8 million pounds of laundry each year.

"Crescent is proud to be recognized for a commitment we have made to reduce our environmental impact and to create efficiencies in our use of water, energy and cleaning materials. These strategies will benefit our customers and residents of Davenport in the long term,'' said Rick Kislia, manager of Crescent Laundry.

Crescent was founded in 1917.  The company became part of Genesis Health System in 1994 when the system was created by the merger of St. Luke's and Mercy hospitals.

About TRSA and the Textile Services Industry

Based in Alexandria, Va., TRSA represents the $16-billion textile services industry that employs nearly 200,000 people at more than 2,000 facilities nationwide. These companies provide laundered textiles and other products and services that help businesses project a clean and attractive public image. The industry reaches every major business and industrial region, Congressional district and city in the country. Most Americans benefit at least once a week from the cleanliness and safety provided by the industry?through its laundering and delivery of reusable linens, uniforms, towels, mats and other products for the healthcare, hospitality and industrial/manufacturing sectors. TRSA member companies' services minimize environmental impacts on air, water and solid waste disposal while reducing costs for millions of customers.

(Rock Island, IL)– When Royal Neighbors of America members Jenna Marwitz and Nicole Sparks, Brownwood, TX, wanted more time with their families, they found a way to cut down on their time in the kitchen...and became the Crockin' Girls. What started as a fun and fast online recipe exchange with families and friends quickly went viral, resulting in more than one million Facebook© friends since the beginning. They have created a crockin' community that has changed mealtime in households across the country.

Kristin McDaniel, Chief Marketing Executive of Royal Neighbors, joined the Crockin' Girls in Texas for one of their weekly video shoots to demonstrate how to make "Come Together Roast," a recipe for slow cookers created especially for Royal Neighbors.

Royal Neighbors and the Crockin' Girls are a natural fit. The girls' strong family values align well with Royal Neighbors' 117-year heritage of supporting women and their families. Like the founders of Royal Neighbors had a vision to empower women, Nicole and Jenna are empowering a nation of "friends" to spend time where it matters most...with their families.

"Nicole and Jenna are typical Royal Neighbors. They saw a need and set out to fill it," said Ms. McDaniel. "Back in 1895 when the women who founded Royal Neighbors saw what happened to families when the mother died unexpectedly, they also saw a need...life insurance for women. They, too, created a community, a nationwide organization that continues to empower and protect women financially with life insurance, while encouraging them to be part of volunteer efforts in their own neighborhoods."

Royal Neighbors and the Crockin' Girls are shaping a new generation of women who come together to make a difference.

Royal Neighbors of America, one of the nation's largest women-led life insurance companies, exists for the benefit of its members. It offers insurance products to fulfill financial needs of growth, savings, and protection. Members receive valuable benefits and can participate in volunteer activities through the organization's local chapters to help make a difference in their communities. The organization's philanthropic efforts are dedicated to changing women's lives through its national programs, including the Nation of Neighbors^SM Program, and through the Royal Neighbors Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Headquartered in Rock Island, IL, with branch offices in Mesa, AZ, and Austin, TX, Royal Neighbors serves more than 215,000 members and is licensed to do business in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Royal Neighbors of America, call (800) 627-4762, or visit www.royalneighbors.org.

 

 

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Expert Offers Tips for Living True to Yourself

What is the No. 1 regret of hospice patients in their dying days?

"They wished they would have lived life the way they wanted to, not the way others wanted them to," says Kathie Truitt, author of The Hillbilly Debutante Café (www.hillbillydebutante.blogspot.com), quoting an article by former palliative care worker Bronnie Ware.

Truitt changed her life by necessity after a devastating series of events led to the loss of her home and career. Like many Americans who lost it all in the recent recession, Truitt decided to go about things differently the second time around.

"I got rid of the socialite sweater sets, the business suits and pumps, which were not me, and went to what is me - vintage dresses and cowboy boots," she says. "I live in the Washington, D.C., area because I have too. But I don't have to conform to how other people look, dress and behave here. I surround myself with the things I like; I have a country-style house, I drive a pickup, and, once a month, I take a ride out to one of the places featured in Southern Living magazine."

You don't have to have a lot of money to live a life truer to your spirit. Truitt offers some suggestions:

• Make location a state of mind. Does your heart yearn to be somewhere else? You're in Kansas, but you long to live on the beach, or you're in the city but you're a country person, like Truitt. If you can't follow your heart, bring that place to you. If you love all things Paris, for instance, decorate a room or your whole home Parisian style. Instead of going to the grocery store once a week, find a market and stop in every day for fresh food, the way the French do. Ride a bicycle; put a picture of the Eiffel Tower on your desk at work; eat lunch al fresco. Take a French class and maybe you'll meet some like-minded friends.

• Turn your passion into a career. You don't have to give up your day job to pursue a career doing what gratifies and satisfies you. If you love playing music, set aside time to practice and write songs. Pursue opportunities to play at local events; create video recordings and upload them to YouTube (it worked for Justin Bieber!); offer to perform at your place of worship. Whether you dream of writing a novel, designing jewelry or being a race car driver, working at it even part-time will help you feel fulfilled.

• Take the plunge and start your own business. In 2011, entrepreneurs started 543,000 new businesses each month, on average, among the highest startup rates in 16 years, according to the most recent Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. With all the tax breaks and incentives being offered to small businesses now, it's a good time to open that restaurant you always wanted, or launch that graphics design studio. You'll never know until you try!

As for Truitt, she would love to be back home in El Dorado Springs, Mo. Since she can't be there, she wrote a novel set in the small, southern town, which is struggling financially. She hopes to fan interest in tourists visiting the town to meet the business owners described in her book, and see the sights. To that end, she's also organizing an Antique & Book Festival there on April 14, preceded by a Hillbilly Debutante ball - featuring vintage prom dresses and plaid tuxes - the night before.

"There are many ways to live your dreams," Truitt says. "You're limited only by your imagination. I don't want to be that person looking back on my life and regretting that I lived it by someone else's rules."

About Kathie Truitt

Kathie Truitt is a former radio personality and speaker in the South, where she was crowned Mrs. Missouri America. She's the author of False Victim, a memoir about the nightmare of events that forced her from her home. She sells vintage-style clothing, accessories and jewelry at www.hillbillydebutante.blogspot.com.