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Today's industries are changing at rapid rates, no matter their focus, but the healthcare industry has seen some of the most significant changes of all in the past decade. These changes inevitably bring corresponding challenges. In the foreseeable future, healthcare providers will be challenged to improve the patient experience, prevent infection and manage costs while streamlining services, says ImageFIRST Kansas City, a medical uniform provider in Kansas City, KS.

As the patient consumer base in healthcare becomes more demanding and savvy, healthcare providers must focus on the patient experience as a means of staying competitive in the industry. Innovative products, services and facilities that approach the patient experience from unexpected or unorthodox angles are often key to creating patient-centered solutions that help healthcare providers thrive. ImageFIRST Kansas City, a medical uniform, linen and laundry provider in Kansas City, KS, is no stranger to the importance of the patient experience as a key consideration for healthcare providers. The company recently shared the example of the Children's Hospital of Michigan—Troy as an innovative, patient-focused healthcare provider.

ImageFIRST Kansas City, a leading provider of nurse uniforms in Kansas City, MO, regularly shares healthcare industry information with its customers to help them stay current in a fast-paced, constantly shifting market. This month, ImageFIRST Kansas City shares the results of Gallup's poll on American perceptions of various professions and their levels of honesty and ethical integrity. For the 14th year in a row, nurses were ranked the most trustworthy profession, highlighting the need for a strong nursing presence in any healthcare facility to create a positive patient experience.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a measure will spell big changes for surgery centers. In 2016, with the approval of CMS, patient satisfaction surveys will be available to outpatient and ambulatory surgery centers, designed to gauge patients' perceptions and improve their experiences at the centers.

In the past five years, healthcare has become more accessible than ever, thanks to measures like the Affordable Care Act. Now that patients are taking advantage of more affordable health services, the importance of the consumer voice is growing in the healthcare sector, and healthcare facilities are making a greater investment in the patient experience.

From more accessible care, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, to facilities' and caretakers' increased focus on patient comfort, several positive shifts have occurred across the healthcare landscape in the past several years. Especially in the case of patient comfort, many of these shifts have taken the form of improvements to patient amenities. However, one factor that requires improvement—rate of readmission—can be greatly impacted not through material comforts, but through communication.

ImageFIRST, the nation's largest linen rental and laundry service for outpatient medical facilities, is committed to providing outstanding service to each of its clients. Their constant efforts and dedication to being more than just another laundry service recently led to a new development in the company's evolution. This month, ImageFIRST Kansas City is proud to announce the introduction of Violet the Purple Cow, a mascot as unique and remarkable as ImageFIRST itself.