Incoming President Message

Greetings Kentucky; and Happy New 2019! I hope your Christmas and Holiday Season left you full of joy and excited about the prospects of this new year. There are exciting times ahead for KSHE and our growing membership base. The newly elected KSHE Board met in late November 2018 for two days of intensive interaction and planning. Here’s a peek at what you can expect to hear about in 2019:

• Membership will double to over 1000 members from 55+ healthcare facilities
• Associate Members will be encouraged to take an active, advisory role in KSHE’s future; Associate Membership will grow to 75+ master accounts
• KSHE will provide six (6) free online training opportunities and five (5) face-to-face training opportunities
• We will be working with KCTCS and Owensboro Community & Technical College to pioneer a national

Healthcare Facilities Technician credential with Kentucky and Kentucky healthcare technicians as the “epicenter”

• All KSHE members are being encouraged to adopt the “Safe Day One” healthcare worker orientation program to help insure quality and safety in our facilities
• Three (3) regional Certified Healthcare Contractor (CHC) courses will be offered
• The Healthcare Coalition Conference – building on the success of the Owensboro 2018 event – will return to Louisville in September 2019
• KSHE will continue to be recognized as an ASHE Platinum Elite chapter and as a leader in Energy Conservation

Please be sure to review the entire newsletter as this month is full of great learning opportunities for KSHE members including a Ligature Risks Webinar hosted by our friends and partners at KHA.

I’d be remiss if my comments for the month did not include acknowledgement of the significant impact of our Outgoing President, Jack Merrill. Jack has been a friend to KSHE and my personal friend for a lot of years. I believe that Jack’s investment in KSHE and in Healthcare Facilities Leadership in Kentucky has served to catapult us to a position of prominence within ASHE. As a result of Jack’s steady hand, your Kentucky Society of Healthcare Engineers is growing, is one of the top ASHE chapters in the nation, is on solid financial footing, and has a clear vision for the future with you – our members – at its heart. Thank you Jack.

Please feel free to email me joe.taylor@owensborohealth.org if you have questions or if I can “bring value” to your membership in KSHE.

We certainly are blessed to be living and working in Kentucky in 2019.

Happy New Year.

Joe Taylor

President, KSHE