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Sept. 17-20, 2017 • Rosen Shingle Creek • Orlando, FL

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!

Alexandria Sands, Gaston Gazette
CaroMont Regional employees who help oversee areas such as cleaning and laundry services can now undergo more training in exchange for pay raises and a better understanding of their role in helping health workers care for patients, said Cesar Perez, a manager of the hospital’s environmental services department.

James Clayton, Healthcare Facilities Today
The role of environmental disinfection in the healthcare setting is paramount in maintaining a low bioburden and helping prevent the role of fomites as a vector for disease transmission.

Barbara Morse Silva, Turn to 10
South County Hospital has added an extra layer of protection against hospital-associated infections by welcoming its newest staff member -- a robot.

CleanLink
A recent study conducted at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System demonstrated that a copper-infused material is capable of reducing 80 percent of the bacterial contamination on surfaces surrounding a patient.

Angus Chen, NPR
The risk of getting a deadly, treatment-resistant infection in a hospital or nursing home is dropping for the first time in decades, thanks to new guidelines on antibiotic use and stricter cleaning standards in care facilities.

Einav Keet, Contagion Live
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced that a study team funded by the agency has developed an adhesive patch delivery method for the influenza vaccine, which may offer a new alternative to the standard flu shot injection.

Sue Barnes, MedCity News
A foundational premise of Infection Prevention science is that contaminated environments increase the risk of transmission of healthcare associated infections, including those caused by multi-drug resistant organisms (i.e. "superbugs"), and that appropriate environmental cleaning and disinfection is critical and effective at maintaining a safe environment of care for both patients and healthcare workers.

Heather Punke, Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Even if healthcare workers wash their hands perfectly, they could still transmit methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to vulnerable infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, according to new research in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Jenn Lofgren, Forbes
Whether you are feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities, going through changes in the nature of your role or even if you’ve been promoted through your organization over time, second-guessing your leadership skills is normal.

Ernie DiMattia, Library Journal
Leadership and management are two of the more frequently used terms related to the operation and success of any organization, regardless of its products and/or services.

By Randy Barnes

By Lisa Ford, 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!

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.