Heather Punke, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
HCAHPS surveys measuring patient experience ask patients directly how quiet their rooms were at night during their stay, prompting many hospitals to tackle this issue head-on with programs designed to provide patients a quieter, more restful environment during their hospitalization.

Oncology Nurse Advisor
Methods for cleaning, disinfecting, and monitoring the cleanliness of hospital room surfaces to prevent health-care-associated infections (HAIs) have been reviewed. The findings were published online Aug. 11 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

CleanLink
One of the best ways to improve worker productivity has little to do with cleaning equipment but everything to do with morale, according to Terry Sambrowski, executive director of the National Service Alliance (NSA), a group purchasing organization for larger building service contractors and related businesses.

Heather Punke, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare has released a Targeted Solutions Tool for preventing patient falls in the hospital, which has the potential to decrease rates of falls with injury by 62 percent.

Heather Punke, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Simple practices, like proactive rounds by nurses and hospital leaders alike, are some of the best things hospitals can do to have a positive effect on their patient satisfaction survey scores, according to research out of Johns Hopkins.

Bob Kehoe, Health Facilities Management
Environmental services leaders face tough questions in trying to protect patients, staff, and visitors from health-care-associated infections (HAIs).

Zack Budryk, FierceHealthcare
To help patients get a better night's sleep, many providers are working to reduce or reschedule late-night activities, according to CNN.

Denny Hammack, Facility Care
Inventory management in health care facilities is even more critical than it is in most businesses. While patient care should never take second place to cost controls, it makes no sense to waste money on excess inventory or items that will go bad, expire or never be needed.

Tony Bradberry, Facility Care
Two men entered an East Coast hospital separately with the intent of seeing the same woman who was a patient. An argument ensued as the two men made their way in, and the situation quickly escalated into a physical altercation involving weapons.

Jeff Ferenc, Health Facilities Management
As if there weren’t enough to tackle with keeping day-to-day operations and the supporting infrastructure in top working order, things can get even more challenging, as they say, if there is a merger or acquisition in your present or future.

Healthcare Facilities Today
A probe of the fungal infection of public hospital bed linen has identified lapses in almost every stage of the laundry process, according to an article on the South China Morning Post website.

Jacquelyn Gray, MD Magazine
A study by University of Pennsylvania researchers identifying several favorable ways "high-touch surfaces" in hospitals can be cleaned also claimed there was insufficient evidence pointing to which method was the best to help decrease health-care-associated infections (HAIs).

Infection Control Today
Contact precautions are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for all patients known to be infected with or carrying multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).

Shannon Barnet, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
While advances in water management and sanitation have substantially reduced waterborne disease in the United States, outbreaks continue to occur, according to the CDC's recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Infection Control Today
Use of rapid response teams and strong community involvement in finding Ebola virus disease cases and contacts is yielding results in Sierra Leone. An epidemiological week has now passed with no new Ebola cases for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak.

Lolly Daskal, Fast Company
You might assume that once you get promoted to a management position, respect from your employees will come automatically. But just because some people recognize your leadership skills and knowledge doesn't mean everyone will.

Anett Grant, Fast Company
You walk into your boss’s office with more confidence than you’ve ever had before. You’ve never been more prepared. You know exactly what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. You close the door, you sit down.

EXPRESS is a mobile learning platform that offers educational podcasts delivered by environmental services and infection prevention thought leaders. You asked for a learning opportunities that required less of a time commitment, and we delivered!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will offer a webinar on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. Participants can join by phone; registration not required. Audio required for webinar is as follows: 888-469-1370 (U.S. callers) or 517-308-9046 (international callers). The passcode is 3791890. To join by webinar, visit https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PW5080898&p=3791890&t=c.

Wednesday, Sept. 30
In this webinar our panel of experts will outline and discuss emergency preparedness strategy and tactics that include environmental services leaders’ evolving role, and lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak, now considered the worst health crisis to hit the world in 35 years.

Complimentary for AHE members!

Want to propel yourself to the next level of your career? Demonstrate your expertise and commitment to environmental services excellence by seeking your FAHE designation through AHE. The designation of AHE Fellow (FAHE) recognizes current AHE members for reaching the highest level of self and or professional education and achievement in both the association and in the environmental services field.

Hitting mailboxes across the U.S. in the next couple weeks is the latest issue of EXPLORE magazine. Filled with one-of-a-kind articles on everything from EXCHANGE and technology to cultivating a "connection" culture and networking, you won’t want to miss it. If interested in contributing to the Winter issue, email Heather Williams, EXPLORE editor, for more information. We’re covering laundry, linen, and textiles, among other hot topics.

Heather Williams, EXPLORE magazine
By now, we’re sure you’ve heard the big news: Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Technician (CHEST)—the new certification program from the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) for frontline environmental services workers—is officially rolled out, and soon hospitals across the nation will begin the very important and industry-changing work by offering classroom-style training that will transform the role of frontline environmental services specialists.

J. Hudson Garrett Jr., PhD, MSN, MPH, FNP, CSRN, CHESP, PLNC, VA-BC, EXPLORE magazine
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that one out of every 25 hospitalized patients will contract a health-care-associated infection (HAI). Each year HAIs are a documented source of increased mortality and morbidity, significant costs for care delivery, and have a negative impact on the patient experience.

Colby C. Morris, CHESP, EXPLORE magazine
There is a constant in health care that applies to us all, and it certainly will not change—training and ongoing education. This and the engagement of our staff in those activities are those areas where we’re continuously trying to stay on top of tracking, pushing, completing, and coaching.