Case Study: The Annual Cost of X-ray Garment Management

Sep 6

Overview

A new RCS hospital was previously performing in-house integrity scanning, cleaning, and documentation for 508 lead pieces across nine departments. The year prior, 87 pieces were discarded due to the integrity of the lead or damages to fabric and attachments.

Room Downtime Revenue Lost

To complete the integrity scans in-house, the hospital shut down an examination room for the entire scanning period of 14 business days. The room averaged 11 exams daily, totaling $164,738 of lost revenue over the duration of the annual screening.

$164,738 of Lost Revenue

Labor Cost

Techs worked in teams of two to complete the work, one minimum wage new tech and one tenured tech. For the 111 hours of work, the labor cost totaled $6,799.

Spent $6,799 on Labor

Time Spent

The staff estimated each X-ray garment took approximately 6 minutes to scan, wipe down, and document if there were no defects present and it was not heavily soiled. Aprons with defects or heavy soil took over 20 minutes to properly examine, clean and document. The total annual scanning and documentation process took over 111 hours to complete for the 508 pieces, averaging over 13 minutes per piece.

Spent 111 Hours to Complete Inspections

Total Annual Cost: $171,538 or $338/garment

Save by Partnering with RCS

After calculating the internal annual cost of managing their own garments, the hospital decided to partner with RCS the following year.

Justin McKay

Justin McKay is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Radiological Care Services (RCS), a leading provider of X-ray garment cleaning and sanitization solutions. With over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Justin has a deep passion for patient and staff safety.

Driven by a personal experience with a hospital-acquired infection linked to contaminated X-ray garments in 2012, Justin co-founded RCS in 2013. Since then, he has spearheaded the company's growth, transforming it from a cleaning service into a comprehensive solutions platform that has helped over 500 departments in healthcare facilities across 42+ US States implement customized X-ray garment servicing programs. These programs have received best practice recognition from The Joint Commission, improved staff workflow efficiency, and reduced the risk for hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

Before RCS, Justin held leadership positions in national sales at Ferris Mfg. Corp., a manufacturer of medical textiles. His experience wearing X-ray garments daily in the OR provided him with a first-hand understanding of the needs within healthcare.

Justin is a recognized expert in X-ray garment care and infection prevention. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has been featured in publications like AHRA’s LINK for his innovative approach to X-ray garment sanitization. He leverages his expertise to collaborate with healthcare departments, developing customized programs that deliver value, consistency, and measurable outcomes. His commitment to building strong relationships has resulted in a network of satisfied clients across the United States.

Justin holds a bachelor's degree from DePauw University and a master's degree from Purdue University.