Simon Fraser University via Infection Control Today
The world owes a debt of gratitude to Simon Fraser University biologist Regine Gries. Her arms have provided a blood meal for more than a thousand bed bugs each week for five years while she and her husband, biology professor Gerhard Gries, searched for a way to conquer the global bed bug epidemic. Working with SFU chemist Robert Britton and a team of students, they have finally found the solution—a set of chemical attractants, or pheromones, that lure the bed bugs into traps and keep them there.

By Kelly M. Pyrek, Infection Control Today
If having limited resources at your healthcare institution is forcing you to choose one key infection control-related intervention—either hand hygiene or environmental hygiene—to get the most return on investment, what would you select? Researchers have developed a model that can help infection preventionists, healthcare epidemiologists and administrators determine which strategies have a better pay-off from a patient safety perspective and can help guide resource-allocation decisions.

ECRI Institute via Infection Control Today
The latest healthcare technologies and care process innovations are pounding on hospital doors and looking through windows—and they want in. Will they actually improve patient care, or inflate hospital budgets for infrastructure, capital equipment, and physician preference items? ECRI Institute’s 2015 Top 10 Hospital C-Suite Watch List, available as a free public service, answers key questions on new and emerging health technologies that potentially provide new ways to treat patients, improve care and reduce costs.

By Ray Williams, Financial Post
While progressive companies such as Google have taken positive steps to address the issues mentioned, most employers have yet to come to terms with how the Millennial generation is on the cusp of drastically changing how we view work and business.

By Dan Pontefract, Forbes
If I had my way, any face-to-face leadership development program on the planet would first start with the facilitator showing a picture of General Sherman. No, not General William Tecumseh Sherman—military strategist and General of the Union Army during the United States Civil War in 1861 through 1865—rather the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) tree located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, California.

Delivering high-quality healthcare requires highly qualified people. This preparatory course is designed for professionals preparing for the comprehensive and challenging CHESP Certification Exam. While not designed to teach examination content specifically, the content of the course is focused on the seven content domains of Environmental Services competency: Regulatory Compliance; Planning, Design, and Construction; Operations Related to Environmental Sanitation; Operations Related to Waste Management; Operations Related to Textile Management; Financial Stewardship; and Administration. Participants will study these content areas by reviewing the electronic version of the Official CHESP Review Guide, 2nd Edition provided within the course. Students will also have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with other CHESP seekers to gain a more comprehensive perspective of the Environmental Services industry and better prepare for the Exam.

Thursday, February 26
Stay tuned for more information and check back at AHE.org soon for registration information.

The deadline for all awards is June 26, 4:30 p.m. PST
AHE’s awards and recognition program acknowledges and elevates those who have demonstrated the highest level of effort and leadership in the field of healthcare environmental services. Award recipients are those who work towards advocating and educating themselves on best practices and standards, developing leaders within the healthcare environment, and recognizing the profession in the healthcare community. Nominate someone you believe is doing an outstanding job in environmental services by nominating them today! Or, nominate yourself—your work shouldn’t go unnoticed. It would be an honor and a privilege for AHE to acknowledge and celebrate with you.

Access the 2015 calendar of events for AHE learning opportunities, including courses, webinars, and the annual conference. Registration to open shortly.

Thought-provoking articles and viewpoints on key issues affecting environmental healthcare professionals. You will look forward to reading our quarterly members-only publication, EXPLORE. Written by members, committee members, board and staff, and other EVS experts, this publication offers the latest news and techniques that can help you accomplish more in less time.