The AHE awards and recognition program acknowledges and elevates professionals who have demonstrated the highest level of excellence and leadership. Award recipients are those who work towards advocating and educating themselves on best practices and standards, developing new leaders within a hospital or healthcare facility, and promoting the environmental services profession.

Applications are due June 9, 2017.

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!

Mike Hrickiewicz, Health Facilities Management
Serving on the front lines of hospital infection prevention and patient satisfaction, environmental services (ES) professionals often can be the difference between success or failure in these two crucial areas.

The Clorox Company has been named a 2017 Safer Choice Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a second straight year in recognition of its efforts to promote the use of safer chemistry and products.

Brooke Murphy, Becker's Hospital Review
Few healthcare leaders disagree on the importance of patient-centered care, yet many are challenged to effectively move the needle on patient satisfaction metrics as reported by HCAHPS.

Beth Burmahl, Health Facilities Management
Facing almost the same set of circumstances as facilities management, many environmental services (ES) departments are also behind the curve in terms of succession planning, according to members of the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) Advisory Council, a team of ES leaders serving as volunteers to assist AHE staff.

Deva Rea, Health Facilities Management
In a busy health care facility, high-traffic areas can be reservoirs for infectious pathogens.

Infection Control Today
According to the CDC's FluView report for the week ending April 29, 2017 (week 17), flu activity continues to decrease in the United States.

Anuja Vaidya, Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Hand hygiene is a key aspect of improving healthcare quality and reducing infection rates. Here are 10 most recent findings on hand hygiene.

Healthcare Facilities Today
Healthcare facilities' environmental services staff can be challenged by poor surface choices that make cleaning and disinfecting more difficult, according to an article on the Facility Cleaning & Maintenance website.

Gordon Tredgold, Inc.
While it can be difficult to become a great leader and to achieve great things, practicing great leadership is actually quite easy.

Paulina Guditch, Forbes
Moving into management roles is unchartered territory for many millennials.

By Jim Henry, CHESP, Master T-CHEST

By Carl Solomon Sr., MBA, FAHE, CHESP

Make yourself indispensable and advance your career! Plan your education for 2017. Visit AHE’s 2017 ENGAGE site to learn more about educational courses, podcasts, webinars, and events. And make sure to check out AHE's EXPRESS Learning Courses. EXPRESS is a mobile learning platform that offers educational podcasts delivered by environmental services and infection prevention thought leaders. You asked for learning opportunities that require less of a time commitment and we delivered!

The designation of AHE Fellow (FAHE) recognizes current AHE members for reaching the highest level of education and achievement in both the Association and in the environmental services field. Only presented to Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Professionals (CHESP), FAHE status is given to active members who have excelled in specific areas and have submitted an acceptable, original, unpublished paper on a current aspect of environmental services.