THE NEW NORMAL
We have been experiencing some changes here at UniformsAndScrubs.com due to the Global Pandemic just as we know you have.
TAKING THE TIME TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE Our shipping warehouses are taking extra time to process orders due to operating on limited staff and the precautions they are taking to keep staff and customers safe. Our normal 24-48 hours to process an order may now be 48-72 hours. At this time we are not able to guarantee the 10am cut off for same day shipping of Next Day Air and 2nd Day Air packages.
TEMPORARY CHANGES TO THE RETURN AND EXCHANGE PROCESS Other changes we need to make you aware of are in regards to returns and exchanges. Three of the manufacturers we work with have temporarily suspended acceptance of return and exchange items. They are Landau, White Swan and CID. These manufacturers include the following brands:
Landau: Urbane, Smitten, Scrub Zone
White Swan: Meta, Jockey, Five Star Chef, Fundamentals, Bio Stretch
CID: All of the Wink lines, Carhartt, All the Wonder lines
For the brands that are still allowing returns and exchanges, you will experience delays in processing your returning package. We are placing any incoming packages in quarantine for a minimum of three days to allow time to neutralize anything on or in the packaging. We understand you need your uniforms quickly, now more than ever, so we would suggest you opt for re-ordering your new items on line to get them moving your way as soon as possible. Make a note of the new order number on the return paperwork as proof of an exchange order. We will, when it is safe to process your package, refund for any eligible returned goods. As always embroidered items, *CLEARANCE* items, and garments with the tags removed are not eligible for return or exchange.
But more has changed than your scrub shopping experience. Every facet of our life has been affected. Schools are closed and kids are home with parents trying to learn how to homeschool. Restaurants are closed to in house dining and trying to stay afloat with carry out orders. No in person business meetings beginning with the shaking of hands, no sporting events, no meeting up for a beer after work, no going to the gym, no date night at the movies, no gathering for worship, no shopping trips with your friends, no getting your nails or your hair done. No visiting a sick friend or family member in the hospital or Grandma and Grandpa in their Senior Living Apartment.
At work in a clinic, doctor’s office, or hospital you walk in and suit up in all your PPE that protects you, but also keeps your patient from seeing a friendly face or a tender smile to let them know you care. Then after your long day at work, where you are putting yourself at risk to help others, you now get to go home to your family who are trying to function with all the changes and stress already.
DON’T BRING IT HOME WITH YOU! If your work includes direct physical contact with patients, then the chance of you either taking home, or bringing in to your patient, harmful germs, bacteria or a virus has increased exponentially based on the level of patient contact your job requires. If you have direct physical contact with patients with contagious illnesses, your facility should have a changing room and professional laundry service for your uniforms. You should come to work in your street clothes and change into your uniform and work shoes on sight, then at the end of your shift, change back into your street clothes. Let the professionals clean and sanitize your scrubs. MRSA, RSV and Covid-19 are not welcome house guests, so leave them at work!
If you are working in a facility that doesn’t have a locker room or laundry service, you may want to take steps on your own to prevent the transfer of the yucky stuff. Wear street clothes in transit to or from work. Carry your scrubs in a duffle bag and change on sight and back into the street clothes when you leave. When you get home don’t put your dirty scrubs with your other clothing. Wash your scrubs and wash your hands after handling your dirty scrubs.
Routine laundry procedures, detergents, and laundry additives will all help to make clothes, towels, and linens safe to wear or touch. If items have been contaminated by infectious material, they can be laundered separately, but it is not absolutely necessary.
In general, wash and dry in the warmest temperatures recommended on the clothing label. Hot water washing is not necessary to remove MRSA or Covid-19 from laundry. Read and follow the clothing and soap or detergent label instructions. Water temperatures for household laundry depend on the type of fiber or fabric of the clothing. Also, some laundry detergents are made to clean best at certain temperatures. Not following instructions could damage the clothing item or decrease the effectiveness of the detergent.
It is not necessary to use bleach for each load of laundry. Detergent alone will make laundry clean and safe for wear and use. Use of bleach as a disinfectant in laundering is optional, and not all fabrics are suitable for bleach. Read the clothing label instructions.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH We have all been bombarded with information, numbers, statistics, forecasts and projections. It feels like info overload for sure. Please do your best to only take information from trusted sources. Don’t be sucked into the hype and fear mongering. Allow yourself to see the good in the midst of the chaos. Focus on the victories and on the stories of people being supportive of each other.
This is going to take some time. It’s not something that we can set a clock on, but it will end. The World will return to, (maybe/hopefully) not the same, but to the new normal. We can and will do this. It is my prayer that we, as the human race, come out on the other side of this better than when we went in. May our priorities be realigned to a less material view that we may place our focus and our energies into healing the world from all its ills, not just from this virus.
