NEHES Monthly Digest
December 2020
Very Special Project
WBRC Architects/Engineers®
For over 50 years, the Children’s Center in Augusta, Maine, has transformed the lives of children with developmental disabilities. This new expanded facility will help the Children’s Center serve even more of these special kids and their families.
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NEHES News
NEHES Members have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in many different ways. If you have a best practice which would be helpful to other NEHES members, we encourage you to share these at the following link: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/4d039e0c63d3495fa9a91d2b4d00484e  
 
Best practices can be viewed on the NEHES Website at this link: https://nehes.org/page/shared_best_practices
 
NEHES also has COVID-19 resources available at this link: https://nehes.org/page/shared_best_practices 
 
New articles are posted frequently and if you have a resource which would be helpful to NEHES members, please let us know by email NEHES at info@nehes.org

Friday, March 26, 2021 | DoubleTree by Hilton Boston North Shore, Danvers, MA

To assist with education planning, the New England Healthcare Engineers' Society is soliciting abstracts for presentations at the 2021 Spring Seminar.

Abstracts must be submitted through the web form at the link below. We ask that all abstracts support the conference theme "Beyond the Pandemic: Our New Normal" and fit into at least one of the general competency areas of Compliance; Planning, Design & Construction; Maintenance & Operations; Finance; and Administration. Each abstract submission should include four specific learning objectives to help identify what attendees will be able to apply in their workplace following your session. Speakers must also be willing to present virtually, in case the meeting transitions to that format.

Deadline to submit your abstract: January 15, 2021

Submit Abstract

Interested in participating in a panel discussion regarding best practices and lessons learned during the pandemic? Let us know here!

Message from President
  
While it has been a challenging year, it has also been a year of increased awareness of the critical role we all play in providing safe, high-quality, exceptional care to the patients in our facilities. Our jobs have been challenging, overwhelming, non-stop, but very rewarding. To see the impact each of you has made on the response of our profession to the COVID-19 pandemic is incredible. Thank you for all you have done this year to make our facilities nimbler, safer, and more efficient.
  
Well, 2021 is just around the corner, and we have made it through this crazy year! I bet most of us are ready to get on with 2021.
Gleeson Powers Inc.
H.O. Penn Machinery Co., Inc.
Membership
  
Katrina Reade
Project Operations Supervisor
Concord Hospital

NEHES Member since
2015

Why did you join NEHES?
A few of my coworkers encouraged me to join NEHES. The available education opportunities have broadened my knowledge and have made me more confident in my role.

Isaac Arey
HVAC Mechanic III
Catholic Medical Center

Dominic Gagnon
Vice President of Facilities
Maine Medical Center

George Gattullo
Director Facilities Management
University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC)

Lewis Rheaume
Supervisor of Plbg. Sprinkler Fitters and Mechanic
R I Hospital

James Williamson
Engineer
Green Banyan Consulting

John Varao
Institution Maintenance Supervisor
Taunton State Hospital

Ryan Patalano
Lead HVAC Technician
Winchester Hospital

Winston Vaughan
Boston Director
Health Care Without Harm

John Grout
Sales Representative
Victaulic

Derek Hampton
Lead HVAC Technician
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center

For additional information about Chapter Events, check the NEHES website, www.nehes.org and the NEHES Event Calendar.
  
By Dann Boyer CHFM, Director of Facility Operations, Sturdy Memorial Hospital, and Thomas Tsaros, PE, Energy & Infrastructure Service Leader, Fitzemeyer & Tocci Associates
 
Sturdy Memorial Hospital broke ground last month on a combined heat and power (CHP) project. The project, part of an ongoing effort by the hospital to tackle rising energy costs, represents the next major energy initiative for the hospital. Past initiatives undertaken by the hospital to reduce energy costs included implementing various energy efficiency measures, such as lighting improvements, steam fittings insulation and trap replacement, variable frequency drive retrofits, and upgraded building management controls. The hospital also incorporates energy efficiency into aging equipment replacement as a standard practice. These measures have reduced current energy spend at Sturdy by 16% annually. Combined heat and power seemed the next logical step in creating even deeper reductions in energy costs.
WSP: Creating People-Centered Design
WSP
WSP is an internationally recognized engineering consulting firm that has grown to over 10,000 staff nationally and 45,000 globally in every technical specialty (MEP, Structural, Commissioning, Civil, Water and Environment, Energy, Power, etc.) while still offering the same local expertise and service that our clients have come to expect.  
Click here to learn more
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ASHE Update
  
“Of all the months of the year there is not a month one half so welcome to the young, or so full of happy associations, as the last month of the year.”Charles Dickens
 
 
The year 2020 is drawing to a close, and although our “happy associations” were distant at best to keep ourselves safe, as innovators we continued to learn, adapt and share what we’ve learned every day. I am proud to be part of this association. I can affirm that ASHE business continues apace and is ready to energetically engage in a promising and successful 2021. Let me offer our NEHES membership the following updates.
Health Facilities Management
The American Society for Health Care Engineering's COVID Response Tactics Sharing survey project is a good source of actionable information from a range of health care facilities fields.
  
The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) is one of the largest associations devoted to optimizing the healthcare-built environment and is a personal membership organization of the American Hospital Association. ASHE’s 12,000+ members design, build, and operate hospitals, and are involved in improving the healthcare physical environment from the time hospital blueprints are drawn throughout the lifespan of a facility.
RPF Associates, Inc.
REOS Sales & Service
Sustainability
Health Facilities Management
Replacing and upgrading lighting is expected to reduce energy costs for one hospital by $350,000 per year.
NPR
Studies show that operating rooms consume a significant share of energy in hospitals and can produce more than 20% of its waste.
Facility Management News
Health Facilities Management
A reduction in patient traffic in health care facilities, brought on by the increasing use of telehealth services, could have implications for facility management.
Healthcare Facilities Today
Continuing operations during a construction project requires careful planning, cooperation, and flexibility.
Health Facilities Management
Recruiting and retaining technical staff can be challenging, but there a number of steps facility managers can take to improve the odds of success.
Seaman DiCarlo General Contractors, Inc.
Pall Medical