United States General Accounting Office

GAO Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee

on Oversight and Investigations,

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, House

of Representatives

December 1999 VA HEALTH CARE

Laundry Service

Operations and Costs

GAO/HEHS-00-16

GAO United States

General Accounting Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

Health, Education, and

Human Services Division

B-283006 

December 21, 1999

The Honorable Terry Everett

Chairman

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system requires a

number of nonclinical services, such as food services, laundry, and

housekeeping, to support the delivery of clinical care. About one-third of

VA’s health budget is spent on support services. Because support services

make up a large share of health care operating expenses, one focus of

health care systems in the 1990s was on reinventing the way they provided

support services within their overall efforts to increase the efficiency of

health care delivery. Health care systems have used a variety of methods

to increase efficiency, such as consolidating services, changing

technology, and outsourcing services.

VA provides many of these support services to inpatients. VA spent

approximately $8.4 billion on inpatient services—which included clinical

and support services—for about 650,000 inpatients admitted to its facilities

in fiscal year 1998. VA provides inpatient health care in 175 locations in its

hospitals, nursing homes, and domiciliaries.1

You have expressed concern that VA may not have focused adequately on

increasing the efficiency of services that support its delivery of patient

care. To address this concern, you asked us to develop a body of work

providing baseline data on major VA support services and assessing

options for increasing their efficiency. This is the second report in a series

on VA support services; the first report described VA food service

operations.2

 As requested, this report provides fiscal year 1998 baseline

information on (1) the type and volume of laundry service VA provides,

(2) how VA provides laundry services, (3) the cost VA incurs, and (4) the

revenue VA generates from selling laundry services. We will examine

1

A VA domiciliary is a residential rehabilitation and health maintenance center for veterans who do not

require hospital or nursing home care but are unable to live independently because of medical or

psychiatric disabilities.

2

VA Health Care: Food Service Operations and Costs at Inpatient Facilities (GAO/HEHS-00-17, Nov. 19,

1999).

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options for increasing the efficiency of VA laundry services in a subsequent

review.

To perform our work, we interviewed VA headquarters officials, conducted

site visits with local VA officials and telephone interviews with officials

from all 22 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN), and surveyed VA

officials who were associated with laundry operations at local VA facilities.

Through this survey, we identified 210 VA Health Care Delivery Locations

(HCDL) that required laundry service, including hospitals, nursing homes,

domiciliaries, outpatient clinics, or some combination of these types of

facilities. See appendix I for a complete description of our scope and

methodology. We performed our work between May 1999 and

October 1999 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing

standards.

Results in Brief VA’s 210 HCDLs generated nearly 159 million pounds of laundry in fiscal year

1998. Most of VA’s laundry services involved the routine cleaning of

textiles, although some also included specialized work, such as laundering

operating room textiles and uniforms and making textile repairs. The

amount of laundry that HCDLs used varied greatly among locations, ranging

from 116 pounds at a small outpatient clinic to nearly 3 million pounds at a

large health care facility.

Sixty-eight VA-owned and VA-operated laundries processed 91 percent

(145 million pounds) of VA HCDLs’ total laundry poundage. Laundries varied

in the amount of pounds processed, with the larger facilities serving

multiple HCDLs. Private vendors operating VA-owned laundries or

vendor-owned laundries processed about 9 percent (14 million pounds) of

VA’s laundry poundage.

In fiscal year 1998, VA spent about $78 million on laundry services. Of this

cost, 89 percent was for VA-owned and VA-operated laundries that

employed a total of 1,462 full-time-equivalent employees (FTEE). The other

11 percent was for services that vendor-operated laundries provided. VA’s

average total cost per pound to process laundry was 50 cents, but VA’s unit

costs varied from 23 cents to $1.04 per pound. Since 1982, VA also incurred

modernization costs totaling nearly $256 million for its laundries.

Thirty-six VA laundries also sold laundry service to 74 non-VA customers,

primarily other public agencies. VA laundries processed almost 11 million

pounds for non-VA organizations in fiscal year 1998, generating nearly

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$4 million in gross revenue while incurring costs of about $3.7 million.

More than half of the non-VA customers were federal facilities such as

Department of Defense (DOD) installations and federal prisons. The others

were state and local, private nonprofit, and private for-profit

organizations.

Background VA’s health care delivery locations include hospitals, nursing homes,

domiciliaries, outpatient clinics, or some combination of these facilities.

Overall, VA operates 172 hospitals, 131 nursing homes, and 40

domiciliaries. Over the past decade, VA has dramatically decreased

inpatient hospital care by about 58 percent, most of the decline in the past

3 years. At the same time, VA increased its emphasis on outpatient care by

establishing community-based clinics and increasing outpatient care at its

existing delivery locations. The downsizing of inpatient care has created

additional pressures to minimize the costs of support services because

fewer patients need these services in most locations.3

As a support service, VA laundries provide clean laundry for VA patients in a

variety of settings. The volume of services can be as little as laundering an

examination gown for an outpatient visit to a VA clinic to laundering

bedding for pre-operation, surgical, recovery, and patient beds and all the

necessary textiles surgical staff use in an operating room for a patient

undergoing surgery.

In fiscal year 1996, VA consolidated the management of its inpatient

delivery locations into 22 VISNs. These VISNs are responsible for making

basic budgetary, planning, and operating decisions to meet the health care

needs of veterans within specified geographic areas. VISNs vary in the

extent to which they delegate or direct initiatives regarding VA laundry

operations at their HCDLs.

VA’s Laundry Services

Are Primarily for

Routine Cleaning

Routine cleaning accounts for about 70 percent of VA’s total laundry

services. VA’s 210 HCDLs require laundry services primarily for the routine

cleaning of such textiles as sheets, blankets, towels, and pajamas. They

also require cleaning for specialized items such as operating room textiles

and uniforms. In addition, laundry locations need services to mend

damaged textiles and replace buttons and zippers.

3

See VA Health Care: Challenges Facing VA in Developing an Asset Realignment Process

(GAO/T-HEHS-99-173, July 22, 1999).

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Routine cleaning among VA HCDLs ranged from 116 pounds at an outpatient

clinic in Lorain, Ohio, to 2.7 million pounds at a large medical center in

Houston, Texas. The average amount of laundry generated by HCDLs was

about 757,000 pounds, with most HCDLs totaling less than 1 million pounds,

as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Pounds of Laundry VA HCDLs Generated in Fiscal Year 1998

VA-Operated

Laundries Served

Most Delivery

Locations

In fiscal year 1998, 68 VA-owned and VA-operated laundries served most of

VA’s HCDLs, but two other types of laundries also served HCDLs. VA owned 3

laundries whose space and equipment contractors used to process laundry

onsite, while 13 off-site contractor-owned and contractor-operated

laundries also processed laundry for HCDLs.

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VA Owns and Operates 68

Laundries

The 68 VA-owned and VA-operated laundries provided 91 percent of VA’s

laundry service in fiscal year 1998. These laundries are widely dispersed

throughout the country (see figure 2).

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Figure 2: Locations of 68 VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries in Fiscal Year 1998

Page 6 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
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Amounts of processed laundry ranged from about 270,000 pounds in

Grand Junction, Colorado, to approximately 11.4 million pounds in St.

Albans, New York. More than half of VA-operated laundries processed

2 million pounds or less (see figure 3).

Figure 3: Pounds of Laundry

Processed at VA-Owned and

VA-Operated Laundries in Fiscal Year

1998

Almost two-thirds of VA-owned and VA-operated laundries serve between

two and nine HCDLs. Twenty-six VA-operated laundries serve a single HCDL.

(See figure 4.)

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Figure 4: Number of HCDLs VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries Served in Fiscal Year 1998

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The laundry in St. Albans, New York, is the largest that serves two or more

HCDLs. In fiscal year 1998, the St. Albans laundry served all nine of the

major health care facilities in VISN 3. The farthest that the St. Albans facility

transported laundry was the 65 miles to Castlepoint, New York, the

roundtrip driving time taking approximately 3 hours.

Several VA laundries that serve only one HCDL are hundreds of miles away

from any other HCDL. For example, the HCDL nearest to Albuquerque, New

Mexico, is El Paso, Texas, and the distance between the two is 263 miles.

Most laundries that served one location processed less than 1 million

pounds of laundry in fiscal year 1998, whereas most laundries that served

more than one location processed more than 3 million pounds (see figure

5).

Figure 5: Pounds of Laundry Processed for Single HCDLs and Multiple HCDLs in Fiscal Year 1998

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The size of VA laundry facilities varied from about 3,300 square feet in Fort

Harrison, Montana, to 71,000 square feet in Hines, Illinois. Of the 68

VA-owned and VA-operated laundries, 52 are located in a separate structure

near the main health care delivery building. The remaining 16 occupy

space within the main health care building.

VA-owned and VA-operated laundries employed 1,462 FTEEs in fiscal year

1998. All wage rate employees were represented by unions and received

hourly wages from $5.25 to $22.65. The number of FTEEs ranged from 4 at

the laundry in Iron Mountain, Michigan, to 78 in St. Albans, New York. The

average number of FTEEs employed by VA-operated laundries was 21.

VA Owns Three Laundries

That Contractors Operated

In fiscal year 1998, VA owned three laundries in which contractors

provided production labor and used VA’s laundry facility and equipment.

These laundries provided about 3.6 percent of VA’s service. The one in

Battle Creek, Michigan, was the largest, processing a total of about

2.8 million pounds for four HCDLs. The laundries in Albany and Bath, New

York, processed nearly 2.2 million and about 729,000 pounds, respectively.

VA Used 13 Laundries That

Contractors Owned and

Operated

VA contracted with 13 commercial laundries to provide laundry service

offsite for 21 HCDLs in fiscal year 1998. These commercial laundries

provided about 5.8 percent of VA’s laundry services. The largest amount of

laundry processed by a contractor was in Palo Alto, California—about

2.6 million pounds for five HCDLs. The Anchorage, Alaska, domiciliary had

the smallest amount processed by a contractor—nearly 19,000 pounds. In

fiscal year 1998, the HCDLs that contracted out laundry services were

located primarily in the western part of the United States (see figure 6).

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Figure 6: Locations of the 21 HCDLs That Contracted Out Laundry Services in Fiscal Year 1998

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VA-Operated

Laundries Accounted

for the Majority of

Costs

In fiscal year 1998, VA spent about $78 million to meet its annual operating

costs for laundry services and employed a total of 1,497 FTEEs. VA spent

$70.4 million to provide services at laundries it owns and operates with

production costs—direct and administrative labor, supplies, and

utilities—accounting for the majority of VA’s laundry expenditures.

Additionally, VA spent $8 million at contractor-operated laundries,

including three that VA owned. The total cost per pound to process laundry

at VA-operated laundries ranged from 23 cents to $1.04 per pound, while

the cost per pound at contractor-operated laundries ranged from 36 cents

to $1.01. Since 1982, VA has incurred modernization costs totaling about

$256 million to equip, renovate, or construct new laundry facilities or do

some combination of these. (See figure 7 for the percentage of costs

accounted for by the three types of laundries.)

Figure 7: Percentages of Total Laundry

Costs by Type of Laundry in Fiscal

Year 1998

VA’s Costs to Own and

Operate 68 Laundries

Annual operating costs for VA-owned and VA-operated laundries totaled

$70.4 million in fiscal year 1998. Operating costs covered four primary

functions: (1) production, (2) distribution, (3) procurement, and

(4) equipment maintenance and repair. Production accounted for the

majority of operating costs. (See figure 8.)

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Figure 8: Percentages of Laundry

Facility Operating Costs by Function in

Fiscal Year 1998

VA’s production costs included all costs that were directly related to

processing laundry: direct and administrative labor, supplies, and utilities.

Production costs for VA-operated laundries totaled almost $43 million. Of

this amount, direct labor accounted for 62 percent and involved 965 FTEEs.

VA’s laundry distribution costs totaled slightly more than $10.4 million,

which consisted of external transportation and internal distribution.

External transportation is the shipment of soiled laundry from an HCDL to

the laundry plant and the shipment of the clean laundry back to the HCDL.

External transportation costs include FTEEs’ salaries, vehicle leases and

purchases, fuel, and vehicle maintenance and repair and totaled

approximately $4.5 million in 1998. Internal distribution costs include the

number of FTEEs required to collect soiled laundry and distribute the clean

laundry within the HCDLs. In total, 204 FTEEs distributed laundry at an

annual cost of $5.9 million.

VA laundry service also incurs procurement costs primarily for purchasing

new textiles. Procurement costs at VA-operated laundries totaled nearly

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$12.9 million, of which 89 percent was spent to purchase new textiles.

Thirty-nine FTEEs repaired damaged textiles at a cost of $1.2 million.

VA’s equipment maintenance and repair costs totaled $4.2 million at

VA-operated laundries. A total of 58 FTEEs maintained and repaired VA’s

laundry equipment at an annual cost of nearly $2.4 million.

The total cost per pound at VA-owned and VA-operated laundries ranged

from 23 cents in Buffalo, New York, to $1.04 in Big Springs, Texas. In fiscal

year 1998, the Buffalo facility employed 14 direct labor FTEEs to process

nearly 3.4 million pounds of laundry, while the Big Springs facility

employed 6 direct labor FTEEs to process about 300,000 pounds. The ratio

of direct labor FTEEs to pounds processed in a year was 1 to nearly 240,000

in Buffalo and 1 to about 50,000 in Big Springs. Overall, total costs

averaged 50 cents per pound at VA-operated facilities. (See figure 9 for the

total cost per pound at VA-owned and VA-operated laundries.)4

4

Appendixes II and III provide additional information regarding the 68 VA-owned and VA-operated

laundries.

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Figure 9: Laundry Costs Per Pound at VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries in Fiscal Year 1998

VA’s Costs for the Three

VA-Owned and

Contractor-Operated

Laundries

In fiscal year 1998, three VA-owned and contractor-operated laundry

facilities in Battle Creek, Michigan, Albany, New York, and Bath, New

York, incurred total operating costs of about $2.7 million. Of these costs,

approximately $1.3 million, slightly less than half, were solely for laundry

production the contractors performed. VA spent the remaining $1.4 million

for oversight, supplies and utilities, distribution of laundry, procurement

of textiles, and maintenance and repair of laundry equipment. The total

cost for laundry service was 36, 54, and 55 cents per pound in Albany,

Bath, and Battle Creek, respectively.

The Battle Creek laundry, which provided laundry service for Battle

Creek, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Saginaw, Michigan, HCDLs, had total

laundry operating costs of approximately $1.5 million to process

2.8 million pounds. The Albany, New York, laundry facility, which

provided laundry service to the Albany HCDL only, incurred total operating

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costs of approximately $795,000 to process 2.2 million pounds. The Bath,

New York, laundry facility, which provided laundry service only to the

Bath HCDL, incurred total laundry operating costs of approximately

$392,000 to process almost 729,000 pounds.

The Battle Creek laundry facility contracted with a nonprofit entity to

process its laundry while Albany and Bath contracted with for-profit

organizations. All three contracts were based on a negotiated price per

pound. The contract costs amounted to approximately $453,000, $137,000,

and $690,000 for the Albany, Bath, and Battle Creek facilities, respectively.

Since all three facilities process laundry onsite, VA incurred additional

operating costs for equipment maintenance and repair, utilities, and

procurement of textiles that the contractor did not provide. These costs

amounted to $342,000, $254,000, and $840,000 for Albany, Bath, and Battle

Creek, respectively. VA incurred slightly more than half of the total laundry

costs. All three facilities retained a total of 10.4 FTEEs to provide services

not covered by their contracts.

VA’s Costs for

Contractor-Provided

Laundry Service

In fiscal year 1998, 21 HCDLs purchased services from 13 commercial

laundries, paying about $3.4 million to contractors and incurring almost

$1.9 million in additional VA operating costs. Contract costs accounted for

approximately two-thirds of total costs. Services that contractors provided

varied widely. For example, contractors transported laundry to and from

the facilities for 18 of the 21 HCDLs.

Most contracts did not include a provision for contractors to distribute

laundry at the HCDL or to procure new textiles. As a result, VA provided

these and other services at a total cost of about $1.9 million. VA staff

engaged in these activities totaled about 25.3 FTEEs in 1998. The total cost

per pound for HCDLs served by contractor-owned and contractor-operated

laundries ranged from 39 cents per pound in San Francisco, California, to

$1.01 per pound at the Anchorage, Alaska, domiciliary. Of the 21 HCDLs that

contracted out for laundry services, 11 had contracts that calculated

laundry costs by the pound. Ten HCDLs entered into contracts in which

laundry costs were calculated from a fixed price, from a combination of a

fixed price and price per pound, or by the piece.

VA’s Costs Incurred From

Modernizing Its Laundries

In addition to its annual operating costs, VA made significant capital

investments to modernize its laundries. The laundry modernization

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program that VA began in 1982 cost a total of $256 million. Construction

costs totaled $120 million, and equipment costs amounted to $106 million.

Associated central office support costs amounted to about $30 million.

Support that the central office provided included managing project

development, prioritizing funding, providing equipment funding, preparing

specifications, and serving as project manager for the National Acquisition

Center.

In fiscal year 1998, Battle Creek’s laundry, one of the more recent projects,

was modernized at a cost of $7.1 million dollars. It cost VA $1.9 million

dollars to purchase and renovate the building where the laundry is located

and another $5.2 million for new equipment. According to Battle Creek

officials, the useful life expectancy of the equipment is about 15 years.

VA Generates

Revenue by Selling

Laundry Service to

Non-VA Customers

In fiscal year 1998, 36 VA laundries sold laundry service to 74 non-VA

customers. (See appendix IV for summary information about the 36 VA

laundries that sell service to non-VA customers.) Gross revenue amounted

to approximately $4 million, with processing costs totaling $3.7 million,

resulting in net revenue of about $300,000. Gross revenue generated by VA

laundries varied from $255 in Fort Lyon, Colorado, to $992,000 in

Richmond, Virginia.

At the 36 laundries that sold services in fiscal year 1998, 11.5 percent of

pounds processed was for non-VA customers and 88.5 percent was for VA

customers. VA sold laundry service to federal, state, local, and private

entities. Of the 74 contracts with non-VA customers, 13 involved

competitive bids and 61 did not. About half of the 61 contracts that were

not competitively bid were the result of VA and DOD sharing agreements,

and the rest combined other types of arrangements. Slightly more than half

of these non-VA customers were federal facilities such as DOD installations

and federal prisons, as figure 10 shows.

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Figure 10: Percentages of Non-VA

Laundry Contracts in Fiscal Year 1998

Agency Comments In a November 29, 1999, letter printed in appendix V, VA said that our

report provides an accurate description of laundry service delivery in the

Veterans Health Administration. VA also provided technical comments that

we incorporated as appropriate.

As we arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce the

contents of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution of it until 30

days after its date. We will then send copies to the Secretary of Veterans

Affairs, interested congressional committees, and others who are

interested. We will also make copies of the report available to others upon

request.

If you have any questions about the report, please call me at (202) 512-7101

or Paul R. Reynolds, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-7109. Other major

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contributors to this report were Jean N. Harker, Senior Evaluator; Michael

Gorin, Evaluator; Richard Geiger, Evaluator; and Susan Lawes, Senior

Social Science Analyst.

Sincerely yours,

Stephen P. Backhus

Director, Veterans’ Affairs and

 Military Health Care Issues

Page 21 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Contents

Letter 1

Appendix I 

Scope and

Methodology

24

Appendix II 

68 VA-Owned and

VA-Operated

Laundries

25

Appendix III 

VA Laundry Operating

Costs Per Pound by

Function

27

Appendix IV 

36 VA-Owned and

VA-Operated

Laundries That Sell

Laundry Service to

Non-VA Customers

29

Appendix V 

Comments From the

Department of

Veterans Affairs

30

Figures Figure 1: Pounds of Laundry VA HCDLs Generated in Fiscal Year

1998

4

Figure 2: Locations of 68 VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries

in Fiscal Year 1998

6

Page 22 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Contents

Figure 3: Pounds of Laundry Processed at VA-Owned and

VA-Operated Laundries in Fiscal Year 1998

8

Figure 4: Number of HCDLs VA-Owned and VA-Operated

Laundries Served in Fiscal Year 1998

9

Figure 5: Pounds of Laundry Processed for Single HCDLs and

Multiple HCDLs in Fiscal Year 1998

10

Figure 6: Locations of the 21 HCDLs That Contracted Out

Laundry Services in Fiscal Year 1998

12

Figure 7: Percentages of Total Laundry Costs by Type of Laundry

in Fiscal Year 1998

14

Figure 8: Percentages of Laundry Facility Operating Costs by

Function in Fiscal Year 1998

15

Figure 9: Laundry Costs per Pound at VA-Owned and

VA-Operated Laundries in Fiscal Year 1998

17

Figure 10: Percentages of Non-VA Laundry Contracts in Fiscal

Year 1998

20

Abbreviations

DOD Department of Defense

FTEE full-time-equivalent employee

HCDL Health Care Delivery Location

VA Department of Veterans Affairs

VISN Veterans Integrated Service Network

Page 23 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Appendix I 

Scope and Methodology

We focused our work on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) laundry

operations for fiscal year 1998 in order to provide baseline information on

(1) the type and volume of laundry service that VA provides, (2) how VA

provides laundry services, (3) the cost VA incurs, and (4) the revenue VA

generates from selling laundry services.

To obtain this information, we interviewed VA headquarters officials in the

Environmental Program Service and Facilities Management Service. We

obtained documents from VA headquarters officials on VA’s textile care

program, its laundry modernization efforts, the locations of laundry

facilities, and the different ownership categories of laundries.

We obtained information about specific locations through site visits,

interviews, a telephone survey, and a mail survey to VA officials who were

associated with laundry operations. We also interviewed private sector

laundry contractors. We visited and interviewed officials at Richmond,

Virginia, Battle Creek, Michigan, and Denver, Colorado, VA laundry

facilities. We obtained relevant documents on the laundry operations at

these site visits. We visited and interviewed a laundry contractor for the

Denver Health Care Delivery Location (HCDL) and interviewed by

telephone another laundry contractor for the Palo Alto, San Francisco, and

Martinez HCDLs in California.

The telephone survey of officials from all 22 Veterans Integrated Service

Networks (VISN) identified health care delivery locations that required

laundry service. From this information, we prepared and sent a mail

survey to 68 VA-owned and VA-operated laundries, 3 VA-owned and

contractor-operated laundries, and 16 VA contract specialists that

represent the 21 HCDLs served by 13 contractor-owned and

contractor-operated laundries. We obtained data from the survey on the

type and volume of laundry service VA provides, how VA provides this

service, the cost VA incurs, and the revenue VA generates from selling

laundry service. We analyzed and summarized data categories such as

pounds processed, total costs, and revenue generated for fiscal year 1998.

We compared data from the facilities in order to establish high and low

ranges. We examined the data as we received them and conducted

followup telephone calls when we found discrepancies and

inconsistencies.

We performed our review between May 1999 and October 1999 in

accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Page 24 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Appendix II 

68 VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries

Laundry State

Total pounds

processed

Number of HCDLs

served Total cost per pound

Albuquerque VAMC N. Mex. 908,808 1 $0.67

Alexandria VAMC

La.

1,527,241 3 0.69

Asheville VAMC N.C. 1,082,075 1 0.59

Augusta VAMC Ga. 6,148,110 5 0.49

Bay Pines VAMC Fla. 3,644,281 2 0.37

Big Springs VAMC Tex. 299,539 1 1.04

Biloxi VAMC Miss. 5,151,537 6 0.35

Boise VAMC Idaho 451,824 1 0.52

Brockton VAMC Mass. 6,560,796 9 0.42

Buffalo Division N.Y. 3,358,110 2 0.23

Canandaigua VAMC N.Y. 2,157,399 2 0.46

Clarksburg VAMC W. Va. 600,000 1 0.47

Cleveland HCS Ohio 1,761,996 7 1.00

Dallas VAMC Tex. 2,528,435 3 0.44

Dayton VAMC Ohio 3,161,183 4 0.48

Erie VAMC Pa. 945,503 1 0.45

Fargo VAMROC N. Dak. 740,325 1 0.44

Fayetteville VAMC Ark. 686,997 2 0.64

Fayetteville VAMC N.C. 2,058,096 1 0.39

Fort Harrison VAMROC Mont. 280,850 1 0.82

Fort Lyon HCS Colo. 572,041 1 0.58

Fort Meade VAMC S. Dak. 950,381 2 0.41

Fresno HCS Calif. 393,690 1 0.68

Grand Island VAMC Nebr. 627,174 2 0.38

Grand Junction VAMC Colo. 270,178 1 0.66

Hines VAH Ill. 3,301,808 3 0.44

Houston VAMC Tex. 2,745,911 3 0.40

Huntington VAMC W. Va. 729,174 2 0.43

Iron Mountain VAMC Mich. 316,829 1 0.60

Kerrville VAMC Tex. 2,755,074 7 0.39

Knoxville Division Iowa 3,050,992 4 0.47

Lake City Division Fla. 2,708,491 6 0.31

Leavenworth VAMC Kans. 2,808,612 4 0.46

Lebanon VAMC Pa. 857,788 2 0.68

Little Rock VAH Ark. 3,905,166 2 0.54

Louisville VAMC Ky. 1,537,487 2 0.60

(continued)

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Appendix II 

68 VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries

Laundry State

Total pounds

processed

Number of HCDLs

served Total cost per pound

Madison VAH Wis. 3,127,783 3 0.43

Marion Campus Ind. 2,662,157 3 0.36

Martinsburg VAMC W. Va. 1,005,079 3 0.83

Milwaukee VAMC Wis. 3,973,525 3 0.44

Minneapolis VAMC Minn. 2,716,965 1 0.52

Mountain Home VAMC Tenn. 1,500,000 1 0.48

Mufreesboro VAMC Tenn. 2,349,619 3 0.31

Northhampton VAMC Mass. 1,580,020 2 0.36

Oklahoma City VAMC Okla. 1,066,475 1 0.51

Perry Point VAMC Md. 5,162,798 4 0.57

Phoenix VAMC Ariz. 2,722,388 3 0.45

Pittsburgh HCS Pa. 6,372,277 7 0.45

Portland VAMC Oreg. 1,997,355 1 0.36

Reno VAMC Nev. 532,223 1 0.64

Richmond VAMC Va. 5,176,184 2 0.46

Roseburg HCS Oreg. 1,469,564 4 0.49

Salem VAMC Va. 1,551,260 1 0.49

Salisbury VAMC N.C. 2,368,776 2 0.46

Salt Lake City VAMC Utah 965,588 1 0.46

San Juan VAMC P. R. 2,465,373 3 0.26

Sheridan VAMC Wyo. 384,617 1 0.68

Sioux Falls VAMC S. Dak. 997,103 1 0.27

Spokane VAMC Wash. 586,644 1 0.43

St. Albans Extended Care Center N.Y, 11,353,047 9 0.37

St. Cloud VAMC Minn. 1,083,939 1 0.54

St. Louis VAMC Mo. 3,305,727 4 0.61

Togus VAMROC Maine 971,172 1 0.41

Tuscaloosa VAMC Ala. 2,580,361 4 0.64

Waco VAMC Tex. 2,897,905 4 0.31

Walla Walla VAMC Wash. 361,190 1 0.56

West Los Angeles VAMC Calif. 5,160,816 6 0.51

West Palm Beach VAMC Fla. 3,838,411 5 0.25

Page 26 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Appendix III 

VA Laundry Operating Costs Per Pound by

Function

Laundry State Production Distribution Procurement

Maintenance

and repair

Total operating

cost per pound

Albuquerque VAMC N. Mex. $0.33 $0.15 $0.14 $0.04 $0.67

Alexandria VAMC La. 0.37 0.24 0.07 0.01 0.69

Asheville VAMC N.C. 0.36 0.11 0.09 0.04 0.59

Augusta VAMC Ga. 0.26 0.06 0.13 0.04 0.49

Bay Pines VAMC Fla. 0.20 0.04 0.12 0.01 0.37

Big Springs VAMC Tex, 0.85 0.02 0.14 0.03 1.04

Biloxi VAMC Miss. 0.24 0.04 0.05 0.02 0.35

Boise VAMC Idaho 0.35 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.52

Brockton VAMC Mass. 0.24 0.05 0.10 0.03 0.42

Buffalo Division N.Y. 0.16 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.23

Canandaigua VAMC N.Y. 0.32 0.06 0.05 0.02 0.46

Clarksburg VAMC W. Va. 0.28 0.05 0.08 0.07 0.47

Cleveland HCS Ohio 0.71 0.06 0.19 0.05 1.00

Dallas VAMC Tex. 0.25 0.06 0.09 0.04 0.44

Dayton VAMC Ohio 0.27 0.13 0.06 0.01 0.48

Erie VAMC Pa. 0.34 0.04 0.05 0.02 0.45

Fargo VAMROC N. Dak. 0.27 0.05 0.10 0.02 0.44

Fayetteville VAMC Ark. 0.36 0.12 0.13 0.02 0.64

Fayetteville VAMC N.C. 0.31 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.39

Fort Harrison VAMROC Mont. 0.51 0.10 0.17 0.03 0.82

Fort Lyon HCS Colo. 0.45 0.05 0.03 0.04 0.58

Fort Meade VAMC S. Dak. 0.27 0.08 0.04 0.02 0.41

Fresno HCS Calif. 0.46 0.06 0.17 0.00 0.68

Grand Island VAMC Nebr. 0.30 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.38

Grand Junction VAMC Colo. 0.45 0.07 0.10 0.03 0.66

Hines VAH Ill. 0.24 0.03 0.10 0.06 0.44

Houston VAMC Tex. 0.24 0.01 0.12 0.03 0.40

Huntington VAMC W. Va. 0.32 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.43

Iron Mountain VAMC Mich. 0.43 0.06 0.07 0.04 0.60

Kerrville VAMC Tex. 0.27 0.04 0.07 0.02 0.39

Knoxville Division Iowa 0.33 0.07 0.05 0.01 0.47

Lake City Division Fla. 0.26 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.31

Leavenworth VAMC Kans. 0.24 0.11 0.07 0.05 0.46

Lebanon VAMC Pa. 0.44 0.12 0.11 0.02 0.68

Little Rock VAH Ark. 0.29 0.13 0.10 0.01 0.54

Louisville VAMC Ky. 0.38 0.09 0.11 0.02 0.60

Madison VAH Wis. 0.26 0.07 0.09 0.01 0.43

(continued)

Page 27 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Appendix III 

VA Laundry Operating Costs Per Pound by

Function

Laundry State Production Distribution Procurement

Maintenance

and repair

Total operating

cost per pound

Marion Campus Ind. 0.21 0.08 0.03 0.03 0.36

Martinsburg VAMC W. Va. 0.58 0.03 0.15 0.08 0.83

Milwaukee VAMC Wis. 0.27 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.44

Minneapolis VAMC Minn. 0.35 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.52

Mountain Home VAMC Tenn. 0.32 0.07 0.07 0.02 0.48

Mufreesboro VAMC Tenn. 0.18 0.07 0.04 0.01 0.31

Northhampton VAMC Mass. 0.27 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.36

Oklahoma City VAMC Okla. 0.27 0.13 0.10 0.01 0.51

Perry Point VAMC Md. 0.32 0.06 0.10 0.09 0.57

Phoenix VAMC Ariz. 0.32 0.04 0.06 0.03 0.45

Pittsburgh HCS Pa. 0.30 0.05 0.09 0.01 0.45

Portland VAMC Oreg. 0.22 0.02 0.10 0.02 0.36

Reno VAMC Nev. 0.43 0.06 0.08 0.08 0.64

Richmond VAMC Va. 0.25 0.09 0.09 0.02 0.46

Roseburg HCS Oreg. 0.34 0.08 0.07 0.00 0.49

Salem VAMC Va. 0.24 0.15 0.08 0.02 0.49

Salisbury VAMC N.C. 0.25 0.07 0.11 0.03 0.46

Salt Lake City VAMC Utah 0.26 0.13 0.07 0.00 0.46

San Juan VAMC P. R. 0.22 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.26

Sheridan VAMC Wyo. 0.47 0.06 0.11 0.04 0.68

Sioux Falls VAMC S. Dak. 0.19 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.27

Spokane VAMC Wash. 0.27 0.07 0.08 0.01 0.43

St. Albans Extended Care

Center

N.Y.

0.20 0.05 0.09 0.03 0.37

St. Cloud VAMC Minn. 0.32 0.12 0.08 0.01 0.54

St. Louis VAMC Mo. 0.26 0.17 0.16 0.02 0.61

Togus VAMROC Maine 0.26 0.06 0.07 0.02 0.41

Tuscaloosa VAMC Ala. 0.41 0.11 0.10 0.02 0.64

Waco VAMC Tex. 0.20 0.04 0.05 0.02 0.31

Walla Walla VAMC Wash. 0.35 0.06 0.09 0.06 0.56

West Los Angeles VAMC Calif. 0.29 0.08 0.10 0.03 0.51

West Palm Beach VAMC Fla. 0.17 0.02 0.06 0.01 0.25

Note: Some functions do not add up to the total operating cost per pound because of rounding.

Page 28 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Appendix IV 

36 VA-Owned and VA-Operated Laundries

That Sell Laundry Service to Non-VA

Customers

Customer

Laundry State

Number of

agreements Federal

State or

local

Private

nonprofit

Private for

profit

Gross

revenue

Albuquerque VAMC N. Mex. 1 X $40,583

Alexandria VAMC La. 2 XX 71,285

Biloxi VAMC Miss. 5 XXXX X 295,182

Brockton VAMC Mass. 2 XX 59,429

Buffalo Division N.Y. 2 X X 120,684

Dallas VAMC Tex. 2 XX 85,078

Erie VAMC Pa. 1 X 141,900

Fargo VAMROC N. Dak. 3 X XX 24,508

Fayetteville VAMC Ark. 1 X 1,980

Fayetteville VAMC N.C. 1 X 338,639

Fort Harrison VAMROC Mont. 1 X 476

Fort Lyon HCS Colo. 1 X 255

Fort Meade VAMC S. Dak. 5 XX XXX 26,240

Grand Island VAMC Nebr. 1 X 12,298

Iron Mountain VAMC Mich. 1 X 0

Kerrville VAMC Tex. 2 X X 4,874

Knoxville Division Iowa 1 X 4,397

Lake City Division Fla. 1 X 2,784

Little Rock VAH Ark. 6 XXXX XX 109,259

Madison VAH Wis. 2 X X 384,555

Martinsburg VAMC W. Va. 2 XX 3,172

Milwaukee VAMC Wis. 1 X 142,054

Minneapolis VAMC Minn. 1 X 158,650

Mufreesboro VAMC Tenn. 1 X 510

Northampton VAMC Mass. 4 XXX X 196,014

Perry Point VAMC Md. 2 XX 120,892

Phoenix VAMC Ariz. 1 X 143,259

Pittsburgh HCS Pa. 1 X 60,950

Richmond VAMC Va. 4 XXXX 991,790

Roseburg HCS Oreg. 5 XX XX X 123,969

Sioux Falls VAMC S. Dak. 2 X X 61,242

Spokane VAMC Wash. 2 X X 93,653

St. Albans Extended Care Center N.Y. 3 X XX 39,689

Togus VAMROC Maine 1 X 2,403

Tuscaloosa VAMC Ala. 2 XX 33,537

West Palm Beach VAMC Fla. 1 X 30,010

Page 29 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
Appendix V 

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Veterans Affairs

(406167) Page 30 GAO/HEHS-00-16 VA Laundry Service
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