AHE has started this initiative to encourage professionals in the field to begin, or continue to refer to the departments and the personnel caring for the healthcare environment as environmental services professionals rather than as housekeepers, janitors and custodians. The staff and management teams responsible for maintaining the clinical environment of care require different skills and competencies from those needed in the commercial cleaning and general maintenance industry and it's time we address this critical distinction.

Please help us redefine healthcare environmental services!

We need YOU! AHE is gathering input from environmental services departments across the country to identify baseline staffing productivity standards. The results of this data gathering will be used in building staffing models and providing metrics for environmental services directors. You can be a key player in identifying and establishing these important staffing criteria for our industry.

Healthcare Facilities Today
An infographic on the MedPro website details how to save money on waste disposal.

Healthcare Facilities Today
The Joint Commission is offering an online resource center to help healthcare facilities prevent workplace violence. "Workplace Violence Prevention Resources," provides a range of resources for healthcare organizations.

Andrew Gager, facilities.net
Storerooms in institutional and commercial facilities that I visit around the world have several things in common.

American Laundry News
"To ensure that the laundry I manage is achieving top production on an ongoing basis, what do you think I should be tracking and why?"

Karen Kroll, facilities.net
Another way in which a high-performing cleaning program can save money is by extending the life of assets.

Kassandra Kania, CleanLink
Cleaning carts are often the unacknowledged workhorses of a cleaning operation.

Tom Bergin, Infection Control Today
For more than 25 years, the third week in October has been designated as National Infection Control Week - a time dedicated to sharing and exploring new research, opportunities and design to support infection control across hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Infection Control Today
According to the first full FluView report from the CDC for the 2016-2017 season, flu activity is low overall in the continental United States, with only Guam reporting widespread flu activity.

Lisa Flam, The Weather Channel
There is one thing that’s certain about the flu: you don’t want to catch it.

Brian Zimmerman, Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Disinfecting the hospital room environment with an ultraviolet air sterilizer — an air purification system that removes detrimental microbial particles with UV air filters — can reduce the occurrence of sepsis and mortality in cardiac surgery patients, according to a new study presented on Sunday at the 2016 Congress of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association in Lisbon, Portugal.

Nicola M. Parry, BVSC, MRCVS, MSC, DIPACVP, Contagion Live
A recent study suggests that patient-to-patient transmission of norovirus is potentially overestimated within clinical settings.

Jeff Boss, Forbes
Leaders today are faced with myriad challenges that only grow in complexity by the day.

Marillyn Hewson, Fortune
Leaders must exemplify integrity and earn the trust of their teams through their everyday actions.

By Pattie Costello

By John Scherberger

Make yourself indispensable and advance your career! Plan your education for 2016. Visit AHE’s brand-new 2016 ENGAGE site to learn more about educational courses, podcasts, webinars, and events.

To acknowledge the ongoing and outstanding sustainability efforts of healthcare facilities - and environmental service departments in particular - the AHE presents the Environmental Sustainability Certificate Program. This program not only provides guidance on efficient, effective and value-added environmentally sustainable healthcare operations, but also provides it in such a way that is achievable within all budgets.