Elevated Distribution

Western Paper Distributors Announces Merger with Reed Paper Company in Arizona

December 14, 2010, Denver, CO, USA— Western Paper Distributors is proud to announce the acquisition of Reed Paper Company in Phoenix, Arizona.  Western Paper is a leading supplier of janitorial and sanitary supplies, and with the acquisition of Reed Paper, will enhance its market position as a leading provider of foodservice disposables.

Why Reed?

After carefully evaluating many different acquisition candidates, Reed Paper was chosen for its strong standing in the marketplace, established customer base, and natural synergies with the Western Paper business model and infrastructure.  With the acquisition, Western Paper will enhance its market position as a leading provider of foodservice disposables in addition to janitorial and sanitary supplies.

Western Paper Distributors is a privately held company with strategically placed distribution centers in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas which serve the surrounding regional markets.  We are proud members of Network Services Company, North America's leading distributor of housekeeping and maintenance supplies, industrial packaging, food service disposables, and related products.  Network is a $15 billion international organization with more than 400 locations in the United States and Canada and over 250 in Europe.

Learn more at www.westernpaper.com

Hand Hygeine Saves Lives - CDC Video

Environmental Services Role In Infection Prevention

Health Facilities Management

June 2010

In many respects, environmental services (ES) employees, frequently referred to as housekeeping staff in days gone by, are now recognized as a major defense against the spread of infections in hospitals.  In fact, when it comes to patient safety, no single role is more important than that of the ES team.

Thus it is time the ES field be elevated to the stature of a profession.  If patient survival rate and outcomes are to be improved, additional attention must be invested in ES staff ranging from enhanced education and training to credentialing, certifications and resources.

• Collaboration between ES and infection control teams is fundamental
• Cleaning methods involving push carts, mop buckets with wringers, terry cloths with spray bottles, water pails, string mops and dust mops have been replaced with color-coded microfiber cloths(ie yellow for toilets, blue for patient rooms), single-use mops and cleaning stations
• Examples of surfaces that must be disinfected to control contamination and prevent transmission of disease include: 

Doorknobs, Telephones, Light Switches, Clinical Equipment, Bedrails, Over-Bed Tables, Linen Hampers, Waste Receptacles, Window Sills, IV Poles, Thermometers, Monitors, Computer Keyboards, TV Controls, Nurse Call Buttons, Call Light Deactivators, Handrails, Faucet Hardware, Toilet Walls, Benches, Other High Touch Areas

• Surfaces are classified into critical and non-critical categories, dictating the cleaning protocols
• It will be important to develop a dashboard or scorecard that includes ES performance metrics tied to infection prevention patient outcomes
• While patient satisfaction surveys contain important feedback, quantitative data linked to infection control, patient safety and patient outcomes are needed for ES performance improvements

Click Here to Read The Full Article

Taking measures to reduce

Healthcare Acquired Infections. 

 

Western Paper Distributors in partnership with Network Services Company is proud to offer the innovative Healthy Measures program to reduce Healthcare Acquired Infections.  We consult with your team to reduce Healthcare Acquired Infections, streamline cleaning procedures, and elevate patient satisfact scores.  Call Western Paper Distributors at 1.800.835.4812 to learn more! 

 

Also visit the all new Healthy Measures website at www.healthymeasuresonline.com for HAI Prevention Best Practices, Training Resources, Checklists, Toolkits, Product Guides, Articles and Research.

 

June 3, 2010: WHO States H1N1 (Swine) Flu Not Gone Yet

via www.reuters.com

The WHO emergency committee, composed of 15 external advisers, said it remained critical for countries to maintain vigilance concerning the pandemic, including necessary public health measures for disease control and surveillance, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a statement.

"We're still in the pandemic," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters.

Chan said that pandemic flu activity was expected to continue, and the committee would meet again by mid-July to review the status of the outbreak once more data from the winter influenza season in the southern hemisphere was available.

Chan's decision, based on the committee's recommendation, means that the outbreak, widely known as swine flu, remains at phase 6 on the WHO's pandemic scale, which has been at the top level of 6 since June 2009.

"It is predicted that H1N1 will continue to be the primary or overwhelming virus among influenza viruses for quite a while," Hartl said on Tuesday. "Pandemic or no pandemic, H1N1 will still exist. If there is no pandemic, it means that H1N1 is behaving like a normal flu virus."

Laboratory tests have confirmed more than 18,000 deaths from H1N1 infection, according to WHO figures, but the actual global death toll is much higher and will take at least a year after the pandemic ends to establish.

Read the

full statement from the World Health Organization.

Earth Day 2010 - BOMA offers 40 tips for Property Professionals

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, BOMA International releases 40 Earth-Friendly Tips to help commercial real estate professionals optimize building performance. From recycling to energy management to sustainable landscaping, these tips provide low-cost solutions to green buildings and reduce operating costs.  Talk to your Western Paper sales consultant on how you can execute some of these ideas!

 

Download BOMA - 40 years, 40 tips

 

 

A few of the 40 ideas...

• Use recycled material in restroom paper products
• Use coreless bath tissue
• Work with vendors who have recycling programs
• Utilize mixed recycling
• Include sustainability tips in monthly newsletters
• Invite green vendors to exhibit/discuss products on Earth Day
• Use air filters and HEPA vacuums to improve IAQ
• Insure that your janitorial service uses green cleaning products
• Develop a preventative IAQ management program
• Promote your green cleaning program to tenants

 

Hospital Infection Problem Persists - NYTimes.com

The nagging and largely solvable problem of hospital-acquired infections remains as resistant to cure as the germs that contribute to an estimated 100,000 deaths a year, according to an annual government study issued Tuesday.

Despite a renewed focus on prevention and threats of governmental sanctions, hospitals continue to see increased rates of post-operative bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported. The rates increased by 8 percent for bloodstream infections and 4 percent for urinary tract infections over the year before.

The report concluded that hospital-acquired infections merited “urgent attention.”

Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, the agency’s director, pointed out that projects across the country had shown remarkable success in reducing infection rates by adhering to basic standards for hand hygiene, disinfection of patients, sterile handling of equipment and proper use of antibiotics. But at many hospitals those successes have yet to overcome an entrenched medical culture.

“Despite promising improvements in a few areas of health care,” Dr. Clancy said, “we are not achieving the more substantial strides that are needed to address persistent gaps in quality and access.”

via www.nytimes.com

 

Taking measures to reduce

Healthcare Acquired Infections. 

 

Visit the Healthy Measures website to learn how Western Paper Distributors in partnership with Network Services Company can consult with your team to reduce Healthcare Acquired Infection, streamline cleaning procedures, and elevate patient satisfact scores.  The all new website features HAI Prevention Best Practices, Training Resources, Checklists, Toolkits, Product Guides, Articles and Research.

 

 

www.healthymeasuresonline.com

 

CleaningGreen Virtual Conference & Expo - Register Now!

Registration

Attend the first-ever virtual conference for jan/san distributors, building service contractors and in-house service providers. One day will give you the green cleaning education and solutions you need to revamp your cleaning program, reignite your staff and rejuvenate your business. And you don't ever have to leave your office.

The CleaningGreen Virtual Expo & Conference is FREE!

(Includes five conference sessions, access to the virtual Expo Hall and the Networking lounge.)

Cottonelle Great Debate Roll Poll Winner - Roll Over!

America has spoken in the Cottonelle Roll Poll, and ROLL OVER won by a landslide with 72% of the vote!  Click Roll Poll to comment on 'roll over', watch videos and more! 

Western Paper is a proud distributor of Cottonelle products:

    

Click to Buy Cottonelle Now!

KC Kleenex Cottonelle Coreless Bathroom Tissue 

KC-07001    4.0" x 4.4"     White 36/cs

 

KC Kleenex Cottonelle Standard Bath Tissue

KC-17713    4.09" x 4.06"     White 60/cs

 

KC Kleenex Cottonelle JRT Jr. Tissue - White, 2 Ply

KC-07304   4.09" x 4.06"     White 60/cs

 

 

Survey: Why Are You Buying Green?

What motivates a business to consider the environment? How and why will environmental responsibility increase in the future?

A survey, conducted by SCA Tissue, outlines the answers to these questions. Surprisingly, the survey found that businesses tend to purchase green products not because of the bottom line but because they care.

Survey Results
• 88 percent of respondents choose to purchase green products because they care for the environment.

• 82 percent of respondents reported either a positive impact or no change to their bottom line as a result of their choice to purchase green products.

• 85 percent of business decision-makers have maintained or increased their purchases compared to last year.

• 70 percent believe the role the environment plays in their industry will increase to some level in the future.

• 63 percent of respondents are wary of the abundance of "green" claims made by manufacturers today and feel that products declaring to be green are probably eco-friendly, but also exaggerate claims and blow things out of proportion.

Survey Methodology
The survey was commissioned by SCA Tissue and conducted online with a random sample of 1071 men and women, 18+ who own or manage a business or make purchasing decisions for restaurants, hospitals, schools or industrial facilities.

via www.cleanlink.com

 

Click Here For Western Paper Sustainability Products & Resources

 
We Make Sustainability Simple. 

Cottonelle Roll Poll: Over or Under? Click to Vote Now!

 
  

For Some Germs, Cleaning Prevention The Only Answer - NYTimes.com

  

 The germ is one of a category of bacteria that by some estimates are already killing tens of thousands of hospital patients each year. While the organisms do not receive as much attention as the one known as MRSA— for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — some infectious-disease specialists say they could emerge as a bigger threat.

That is because there are several drugs, including some approved in the last few years, that can treat MRSA. But for a combination of business reasons and scientific challenges, the pharmaceuticalsindustry is pursuing very few drugs for Acinetobacter and other organisms of its type, known as Gram-negative bacteria. Meanwhile, the germs are evolving and becoming ever more immune to existing antibiotics.

“In many respects it’s far worse than MRSA,” said Dr. Louis B. Rice, an infectious-disease specialist at the Louis Stokes Cleveland V.A. Medical Center and at Case Western Reserve University. “There are strains out there, and they are becoming more and more common, that are resistant to virtually every antibiotic we have.”

Some patient advocacy groups say hospitals need to take better steps to prevent such infections, like making sure that health care workers frequently wash their hands and that surfaces and instruments are disinfected. And antibiotics should not be overused, they say, because that contributes to the evolution of resistance.

via www.nytimes.com

Flu experts assess whether H1N1 pandemic peaked - Yahoo! News

GENEVA (Reuters) – Flu experts convened Tuesday to assess whether the H1N1 pandemic has peaked, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The H1N1 virus, which emerged in North America last March, spread with unprecedented speed and infected millions of people.

It is confirmed as having killed 16,000 people, but it will take a year or two after the pandemic ends to establish the true death toll, the WHO says.

"There is no on and off switch for a pandemic. It's not a single event. What we have to see is that the behavior of the H1N1 virus becomes like the behavior of other seasonal viruses," Hartl said.

"At the moment, it is still causing substantial outbreaks of disease outside the normal influenza seasons and affecting groups who are not normally affected by seasonal influenza. So as long as that continues, it does not behave like seasonal influenza." Younger people, especially those with chronic medical conditions, and pregnant women continue to be at a higher risk of infection and viral pneumonia from the H1N1 virus, Fukuda told reporters last week.

The WHO has warned that the H1N1 virus could still mutate or mix with the more deadly bird flu virus, which remains endemic in poultry in many Asian countries.

(Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Jon Hemming)

via news.yahoo.com

Johnson Diversey to Rebrand under the simpler name - Diversey

Western Paper Distributors is a proud distributor of Johnson Diversey products.  We will be working hard to ensure that all of our valued clients experience a seamless transition from their Johnson Diversey products to the rebranded Diversey product line.

Please contact your Western Paper sales consultant or our customer service representatives at 1.800.835.4812 with any questions or concerns.

Download Diversey - Letter to Our Customers

Is the US swine flu epidemic over? Experts Still Advise Caution

ATLANTA – If the U.S. swine flu epidemic isn't over, it certainly looks as if it's on its last legs. While federal health officials are not ready to declare the threat has passed and the outbreak has run its course, they did report Friday that for the fourth week in a row, no states had widespread flu activity. U.S. cases have been declining since late October.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released numbers Friday showing most states continued to have only occasional flu activity last week. However, only three states had absolutely no reports, and a CDC official cautioned that swine flu is still around and is likely to keep infecting people for weeks or months to come.

"We don't seem to be seeing the disappearance of this virus," said the official, Dr. Anne Schuchat.

Whether there will be another wave of swine flu — as was seen in the spring last year and again in the early fall — is a much harder question, she added.

via news.yahoo.com

Ask your Western Paper sales consultant about our Flu Prevention Guide & Catalog. 

Click for Details.

Green Buildings: Fewer Sick Days, Higher Rents - BusinessWeek

Environmentally-friendly construction practices have gotten a lot of hype over the past few years but do they really pay off as an investment? A new study found that tenants in green buildings experience increased productivity and fewer sick days. The research also found that that green buildings have lower vacancy rates and higher rents than non-green counterparts.

The study, conducted by the University of San Diego and commercial real estate broker CB Richard Ellis Group, found that tenants in green buildings such as the Behnisch Architekten-designed Unilever offices in Hamburg above are more productive based on two measures: the average number of tenant sick days and a productivity change. Respondents reported an average of 2.88 fewer sick days in their current green office versus their previous non-green office. About 55% of respondents indicated that employee productivity had improved.

Based on the average tenant salary, an office space of 250 square feet per worker and 250 workdays a year, the decrease in sick days translated into a net impact of nearly $5.00 per square foot per year. The increase in productivity translated into a net impact of about $20 per square foot. The study also showed that green buildings have 3.5% lower vacancy rates and 13% higher rental rates than the market.