By Bre McAdam

Laundry mishap closes Saskatoon health region facility

Nov 10, 2011 | 12:21 PM

The Saskatoon Health Region is trying to provide a steady stream of clean laundry after a hoist carrying 2,600 pounds of it came crashing down.

The laundry plummeted from eight to 10 feet at the health region’s central laundry facility a week ago.

Employees were in the area when it fell but nobody was hurt.

Bonnie Blakley, vice-president of people strategies, says the facility has been shut down for a full assessment.

“This is a significant dangerous miss and we took it very seriously,” said Blakley.

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Now the health region is trying to keep up with provide fresh laundry. In the meantime, all the laundry is being sent to a facility in Calgary which follows the contingency plan.

That’s about 27,000 pounds of laundry a day.

The facility is 60 years old and this isn't the first time it's had to close down over safety issues.

But Nilesh Kavia, vice-president of finance, says there are no plans to construct a new one at this time.

“We have to wait till the report and what the report suggests. The report will give us a sense of what we need to do from a mechanical and engineering perspective, as well as an equipment perspective, to ensure that it’s safe,” he said.

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