Disability Workers Essential Role in COVID-19 Prevention

5 Tasmanians with a disability able to continue their work on an essential product that helps prevent the community transmission of COVID-19.

 This experienced team were sewing Alginate Bags at Oak Possibilities Mail Room prior to moving to Blueline Laundry in July 2020. Since then, they have soared to new heights, increasing their productivity and expanding their sewing skills to new projects.  

 Alginate bags are a complementary product for the commercial laundry. They are used for infection control, to collect, transport and safely wash contaminated linen. Blueline Laundry is now able to directly supply Tasmania’s major public and private hospitals, aged care facilities and quarantine hotels with high quality alginate bags that are tailor-made to the optimal specifications for Blueline Laundry’s operations.

Blueline Laundry CEO Michael Sylvester said, “With the surge in demand for alginate bags from the coronavirus pandemic, it made sense to create our own customized Blueline Laundry product. Bringing the sewing team in-house means not only ensuring continuity of supply of this critical healthcare product, but also expands our ability to deliver on our Purpose of creating meaningful employment for people with disability. “

Background

 When Oak Possibility closed their operations from The Mail Room in Glenorchy, the at-risk jobs of the sewing team of supported workers were saved by a collaboration between the two disability enterprises. As an experienced disability employer and major supplier to Tasmania’s health system, Blueline Laundry was well positioned to ensure a seamless redeployment of the sewing staff, offering meaningful work sewing alginate bags to fill the surge in demand created by COVID-19.

 A Purposeful Future

 Although there will be ongoing demand for alginate bags with infection control protocols now forever changed, the team has a bright future full of possibilities for other complementary products and opportunities to repurpose or upcycle condemned linen.

 For example, the Blueline sewists recently custom-made 200 cot sheets for the Royal Hobart Hospital. The cot sheets were sewn from sheets no longer suitable for the hospitality industry due to wear or damage.