Warren Rosebraugh, Facility Care
The landscape for facility management is changing at an unprecedented rate.

Jamie Morgan, Health Facilities Management
As smartphone and tablet use grows among facility professionals, health systems need to make sure these traveling surfaces are cleaned properly.

Healthcare Facilities Today
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is extending the comment period for OSHA’s draft Guidance on Data Evaluation for Weight of Evidence Determination to May 2, 2016. OSHA published draft guidance on February 16.

Beth Jones Sanborn, Healthcare Finance News
58 percent of hospital executives say, thanks to current challenges in the hospital and healthcare industry, substantial changes to their business models in the "near term" are a must for survival.

Kelly Gooch, Becker's Hospital Review
A new poll released by TINYpulse has revealed hospital workers rate their level of work-life balance lower than workers in non-medical industries, and they feel less valued for their work.

Infection Control Today
Patients commonly bring multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) on their hands when they are discharged from a hospital to a post-acute care facility and then they acquire more MDROs during their time there, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News
Encouraging doctors and nurses to wash their hands frequently has always been considered an easy and effective way to curb the spread of infection in hospitals and other health facilities.

Infection Control Today
The human microbiome, a diverse collection of microorganisms living inside us and on our skin, has attracted considerable attention for its role in a broad range of human health issues. Now, researchers are discovering that the built environment also has a microbiome, which includes a community of potentially-pathogenic bacteria living inside water supply pipes.

David Ferguson, Fierce Healthcare
Two New Jersey healthcare facilities and a team of researchers at the University of Michigan announced new initiatives this week aimed at fighting the drug-resistant "superbug" Clostridium difficile (C diff).

Cindy Atoji-Keene, Boston.com
Jarreau Jean-Woods is on the front lines at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. Without him, infection could run rampant and safety compromised, everywhere from the emergency room to the maternity ward.

Tamara Rosin, Becker's Hospital Review
Leadership and management are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.

Sunnie Giles, Harvard Business Review
What makes an effective leader? This question is a focus of my research as an organizational scientist, executive coach, and leadership development consultant.

AHE is gathering input from environmental services departments across the country to identify baseline staffing productivity standards. The results of this data gathering will be used in building staffing models and providing metrics for environmental services directors. You can be a key player in identifying and establishing these important staffing criteria for our industry.

Plan your education for 2016. Visit AHE’s brand-new 2016 ENGAGE site to learn more about educational courses, podcasts, webinars, and events.

The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) is pleased to announce their Seal of Review and Recognition Program. The AHE Seal of Review and Recognition Program is designed to be a comprehensive review and formalized recognition process aimed at assisting healthcare professionals in selecting training and in-service programs that promote quality, safety and the most favorable outcomes for the healthcare environment and its related disciplines.

EXCHANGE 2016 will be held on September 25-28, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA. This year, EXCHANGE attendees can look forward to:
Infection Prevention Certificate of Mastery Preconference Program for Environmental Services Leaders Preconference Workshop
CHEST Preconference Workshop
Micro Sessions
Healthcare Marketplace

If interested in contributing to EXPLORE by authoring a best-practices article, email Russell Underwood, EXPLORE editor, for more information. The magazine covers all aspects relevant to health care environmental services professionals.

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 Due June 17, 2016.

Gail Fraine, RN, MMHC, BSN, CIC, EXPLORE magazine
Simple ways to encourage collaboration to prevent disease transmissions.

How environmental services, infection prevention, and health care laundry can enhance linen stewardship and awareness.
Chad Basham, MBA, CHESP, Nellie League, MSN, RN, NE-BC, and Lynn Moreau, BSN, RN, EXPLORE magazine