We need YOU! 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.

AHE has started this initiative to encourage professionals in the field to begin, or continue to refer to the departments and the personnel caring for the healthcare environment as environmental services professionals rather than as housekeepers, janitors and custodians. The staff and management teams responsible for maintaining the clinical environment of care require different skills and competencies from those needed in the commercial cleaning and general maintenance industry and it's time we address this critical distinction.

Please help us redefine healthcare environmental services!

Healthcare Facilities Today
As part of its Emergency Preparedness Rule, CMS requires that healthcare facilities prove they are ready to deal with natural and man-made disasters, according to an article on the Outpatient Surgery website.

Mr. G and Kim Pestalozzi, PIX11
"All I need is to give, give and just give," Sylvester Wallace said.

Matt Poe, American Laundry News
When talking about asset management in a laundry operation, equipment often represents investments worth millions of dollars.

Elizabeth Simpson, The Virginian-Pilot
The use of copper to ward off infection goes back to ancient Egyptian times, when it was used to sterilize chest wounds.

Jeff Ferenc, Health Facilities Management
The discovery of a U.S. patient with a new E. coli strain resistant to colistin, the so-called antibiotic of last resort, has sparked a call for hospitals to intensify hand hygiene and environmental services efforts to prevent the bacteria’s spread.

Jamie Morgan, Health Facilities Management
The Department of Health & Human Services has announced new targets for its National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination.

Heather Punke, Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Nurses' clothing — especially sleeves and pockets — can play a role in the transmission of bacteria in hospitals, according to research presented at IDWeek 2016.

Zack Budryk, Fierce Healthcare
Advocates have long protested that federal regulations unfairly penalize rural and safety-net providers for factors beyond their control, but new research suggests rural providers are ahead on care coordination and infection prevention.

Brian Dunleavy, Contagion Live
If you thought the Zika virus crisis was going away with the end of the summer mosquito season, think again: one of the nation’s top public health officials believes the disease is destined to spread across the United States in the coming months.

Infection Control Today
According to the FluView report for the week ending Oct. 22, 2016, flu activity is low overall in the continental United States, with only Guam reporting widespread flu activity.

Phyllis Korkki, The New York Times
Which is more important to your boss: to dominate people or to be liked by them?

Brian Tracy, Entrepreneur
Over the years, great leaders have risen to the forefront of our daily news and history books and made their mark in the world.

By Patti Costello

An interview with Scott Thornton, CHESP, T-CHEST

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

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.