MOUNT PLEASANT - Allegations of dirty laundry had Racine County officials at odds for the past year. But the situation at Ridgewood Care Center appears to have come to a satisfactory resolution.

The issue involved actual laundry - bed linens, towels and privacy curtains laundered for Ridgewood by Superior Health Linens - which some claimed returned to Ridgewood dirty.

When Superior mistakenly said it was accredited by the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council in a contract, some thought the company purposely misrepresented itself. Discussion about dirty laundry at Ridgewood ensued - until now. Superior received accreditation this month, and several county officials said they are more than satisfied with the company's services.

Superior provides dirty laundry pickup and clean laundry dropoff services to Ridgewood, a Racine County-owned skilled nursing facility at 3205 Wood Road.

In 2004, three Superior employees told County Board Supervisor Gaynell Dyess there was cross-contamination of linens, Dyess said. She declined to release the employees' names.

"They were transporting clean and dirty laundry in the same truck and handling laundry without gloves," Dyess said.

Supervisor Michael Miklasevich said he heard Superior mixed clean and dirty laundry, but that such allegations are unfounded.

"We took a surprise tour of the facility, and I was impressed with where the laundry comes in and is separated," he said. "I've had state inspectors come in, and they've never brought anything to our attention."

Dyess went on the same tour and spoke again with

employees.

"They're telling me everything has changed," she said. "Now they bag everything."

Before Ridgewood began using Superior in 2004, linens were clean but old and torn, said John Schulz, a 64-year-old Ridgewood resident.

Superior "switched everything in one day," said Schulz, president of the Resident Council. "It's been fine since. They've never been out of linen. It's always been clean and, if it's torn, they replace it."

County Executive William McReynolds said allegations of dirty laundry were concocted by employees as a way to force Superior to unionize with Unite Here, a national union with branch offices in Wisconsin.

"Racine County should not even be in the debate between a contract company and a union," McReynolds said. "As long as they provide services for us at the contracted price, we don't care."

Eric Sharfstein, assistant director of communications for Unite Here, said McReynolds' claims are inappropriate.

"It's challenging enough for workers to have the courage to come forward and talk about the difficulties they face on the job," he said. "For a public official to then call them liars is

shameful."

Superior's 2004 contract with the county did not mention accreditation. In the first draft of a 2007 contract, a line had been added saying the company was accredited - but it wasn't.

"We filed for accreditation and were trying to determine if we had the power necessary to get it in time," said Superior CEO Scott Reppert. "Someone changed the (contract) template. We have more than 100 customers. Eleven contracts went out with that language in it."

The company immediately met with those customers, including Ridgewood.

"We explained we didn't know how that got in there and would like the contracts amended," Reppert said. "The administration at Ridgewood accepted it was not intended to deceive

anybody."

The Racine County Board approved the amended contract in 2007 after some debate. In a 2007 letter to the board, Supervisor Diane Lange said Superior misrepresented itself and that the contract was amended only after she started asking

questions.

Superior later received accreditation from the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council this month, Reppert said.

For accreditation, an organization must pay $5,000, which covers inspectors' fees, mailings and accreditation certificates. Accreditation fees are HLAC's only source of income, said HLAC Chairperson Judy Reino.

An organization must also have an inspection of their facility and their documents on training, safety and procedures. Companies are given advance notice of the inspection date, Reino said.

She said Superior's facilities in Cudahy and Madison "successfully passed all standards with flying colors."

The county's current contract with Superior is for a maximum of three years and automatically renews each August unless the board chooses to terminate the contract early, said Geoff Greiveldinger, chief of staff for the county executive.