Dann M. Boyer, CHFM
2022 NEHES President
Director of Facilities Operations
Sturdy Memorial Hospital

Hello Members,

Having just returned from the 2022 NEHES Fall Conference, I wanted to provide a brief recap of the events for you. Our first day, Sunday, Sept. 18, highlights included the CHFM review course, the annual NEHES golf tournament, and a welcome reception.

Monday, Sept. 19 included our Keynote Presentation “Overcoming Adversity” given by Dan Cnossen, U.S. Navy Seal Lt. Commander and 6x Paralympic Medalist. After listening to Dan, it is impossible not come away with a new appreciation for all the blessings around us. We also presented our annual awards to:

Karri May – Chapter Leadership Award

Charles “CJ” Brown – Engineer of the Year

Dave Dagenais – President’s Award

The presentations were followed by a couple general sessions highlighted by Joe McCannon, Health Care Sector Lead, Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who discussed the White House’s HHS Climate Pledge. The technical exhibits were outstanding as always, and I literally tried to thank all our exhibitors in person. If I missed you, I am sorry. We ended the night with the annual gala, which for the first time was a themed event “Back to the 80s.”

Tuesday, Sept. 20 was a full day of breakout sessions. The fact that NEHES was able to offer AIA credit hours in addition to AHA hours made this a standout day for me. This is one of my stated goals and I am honored we were able to deliver that to our Supporting Members, many of whom need these credits.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 brought a couple final general sessions culminating with “A Case Study at Maine Health: The Evolution of Sustainability Goals in the 21st Century.” All of our sessions revolved around the theme of our conference “Net Zero: Much More Than Going Green,” and by all accounts, the conference was a tremendous success.

One final takeaway from the last conference of 2022 is that things are changing in the world of energy. If we fail to get out ahead of some of these changes, we and our institutions will have enormous costs trying to catch up with the changing environment. Failure to plan is akin to planning to fail.

As always, thank you for all that you do for your patients, your organizations, and your communities.