Infection Control Today
In recent years, bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have been appearing more and more often in beds around the world, and entomologists need specimens for research purposes. Scientists in France have developed a tool that will aid this research, and their device is described in an article called "A High-Performance Vacuum Cleaner for Bed Bug Sampling: A Useful Tool for Medical Entomology" that was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

Infection Control Today
Filmop USA announces that it has launched a new content-rich website with an abundance of product information and tools for the proper selection of cleaning systems for health care facilities. The site highlights products specifically designed for health care facilities, such as Alpha ES mobile workstations; on-demand microfiber charging systems; and no-touch mopping and surface cleaning technology.

Infection Control Today
Medizone International, Inc., manufacturers of the AsepticSure® Hospital Disinfection System, announces that the same biological indicators used to confirm medical instrument sterilization in autoclaves, may also be used to confirm bactericidal kill for hospital room disinfection.

Ron Harrison, FacilityCare
Does your health care facility have a zero-tolerance for pests? That’s certainly the goal for any hospital, doctor’s office or assisted living facility. But a pest-free environment is easier to want than it is to achieve.

Leslie Small, FierceHealthcare
As an uptick in violent incidents in health care facilities spawns a range of emergency preparedness plans, hospitals looking to tighten security must recognize that emergency departments are especially vulnerable, security experts said in a Healthcare Finance News article.

Amy Eagle, Health Facilities Management
When Norton Healthcare, Louisville, Ky., set out to redesign a 373-bed acute care facility to meet the changing needs of its community, the organization "knew that we had the fiscal responsibility to think broader and think bigger," says Charlotte Ipsan, RNC, NNP-BC, chief administrative officer, Norton Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital. "It’s a lot to spend $118 million," she says. The challenge of the project became, according to Ipsan, "How do we build for tomorrow and take care of what we need today?"

Brad Keyes, Facility Care
As far as what guidelines have to be met, most states and accreditation organizations want you to follow the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities, 2014 edition, unless there are more restrictive requirements from your state authorities.

Thomas A. Smith CHPA, CPP, Healthcare Facilities Management
Hospitals and other health care facilities have fallen victim to violent episodes similar to those plaguing many other areas of society. Indeed, given the stressful situations surrounding many health care visits and the lack of resources for behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, such situations are not that surprising.

Infection Control Today
Slips, trips, falls and sharps are widely recognized as potential occupational risks in the health care industry. However, there is another dangerous hazard that often goes unnoticed and underreported—splashes.

Infection Control Today
Optimizing user satisfaction with alcohol-based handrubs (ABHR) may be vital to enhance hand hygiene performance. Wolfensberger, et al. (2015) report on their study in which they tested the tolerability and acceptability of a new ABHR in health care workers under daily working conditions and evaluated the practicability of the corresponding WHO protocol.

Ecolab via MarketWatch
Ecolab introduces the Syncra™ Hand Hygiene System, a breakthrough innovation that provides touch-free water and soap delivery to back-of-house restaurant hand-washing stations, helping to improve employee hand-washing compliance and restaurant food safety.

Christine Porath, Harvard Business Review
For the last 20 years, I’ve studied the costs of incivility, as well as the benefits of civility. Across the board, I’ve found that civility pays. It enhances your influence and performance—and is positively associated with being perceived as a leader.

Diane Kucala, Huffington Post
Chances are we all have at least one moment in our lives that we wish we could take back. For Meg Whitman, one of these moments may have been when she allegedly yelled at an employee, who was attempting to prep her for an interview, and proceeded to shove the individual.

Kathy Caprino, Forbes
Every day, it seems, we’re bombarded with news of leaders, corporate heads, politicians, and other key figures in our society whose behavior shocks and deeply disappoints us. Whether it’s egregious lying, or a lack of accountability, or rampant narcissism, or indifference to others, we’re reminded daily of how important character is in our lives and in the successes (or failures) we create and achieve.

Shana Lebowitz, Business Insider
Last month, someone wrote in to the career advice site Ask A Manager about how to decline a promotion into leadership. The post sparked nearly 100 comments, mostly from readers who sympathized with the person's dilemma.

New Technologies for Surface Cleaning and Disinfection - UV Light
Thursday, June 18
The use of ultraviolet (UV) light technology is rapidly becoming one of the most effective adjunct cleaning technologies in the fight against health care associated infections. Scientists and engineers are continuing to develop this technology as a means to combat pathogens such as MRSA, Ebola, and C-diff in health care facilities. This webinar will explore:

1. How UV light technology is being used as a protocol for surface decontamination;
2. Use guidelines that are currently being developed; and
3. How environmental services leaders can begin to build a business case for the technology.

New this year includes a Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Technician Workshop, Express Labs, and exciting pre-conference events. Open registration is available until July 31, 2015.

Take part in one of AHE's Train the Trainer workshops and return to your facility prepared to train your environmental services staff to become Certified Healthcare Environmental Service Technicians, CHEST... and start making significant contributions to the patient experience of care, the facility, the profession, and the community!

Ronald Kovach, Healthcare Facilities Today
Whatever its much-debated merits and demerits, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears to be a game-changer in the world of health care facilities design and construction. About four years in, the act has already begun to change the terrain considerably—affecting the strategies of all the various players in this market, as well as the types of facilities they’ll build and the flexible features they’ll offer. Given the ACA’s complexity, the act has also introduced an element of uncertainty into the field.