Beatrix Babcock, Facility Care
It was first discovered in 1847 that hand-washing could help stop the spread of infection, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that hospitals began monitoring and developing their own infection control programs, which facilities are required to have in place today.

Jeff Ferenc, Health Facilities Management
While significant progress is being made, working in a hospital or health care facility still can be hazardous to your health.

Jamie Morgan, Health Facilities Management
The Health Research & Educational Trust and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are launching a three-year initiative to improve infection prevention and control efforts in U.S. hospitals.

Paul Barr, H&HN
All health care facilities would be banned from flushing drugs among other changes in a proposed rule.

Rebecca Robbins, STAT
In the minutes after the terrorist assault on Paris Friday night, city health officials activated a coordinated response to deal with the mass carnage long before the full extent of it became clear.

Zack Budryk, FierceHealthcare
More than 1,000 hospitals received special recognition for their scores on health care quality measures, according to The Joint Commission's 2015 annual report on quality and safety.

Reuters via Scientific American
People across the world are alarmingly confused about the role of antibiotics and the right way to take them, and this ignorance is fueling the rise of drug-resistant superbugs, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Angela Laguipo, Tech Times
The world is facing the threat of 'superbugs' as these bacteria dubbed as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have evolved into one of the most difficult-to-treat pathogens.

Max Green, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
Most health care workers believe that electronic monitoring systems are significantly better for improving compliance than manual methods, although very few hospitals have these systems in place, according to a survey of more than 650 infection preventionists and nurses in the U.S. and 200 in Canada.

Infection Control Today
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are devastating for patients and pose a significant financial risk for hospitals.

Maynard Webb, Forbes
I’ve always enjoyed coaching. After my dreams of becoming a Major League ballplayer were dashed, I wanted to be a sports coach or a teacher—both jobs that require mentoring people.

Bill George, Huffington Post
In the last 10 years, authenticity has become the gold standard of leadership. This is a sea change from 2003 when I wrote Authentic Leadership. Back then, many people asked what it meant to be authentic.

60-minute webinar
This webinar will focus on the importance of quality control to the environmental services team along with strategies to ensure you are capturing meaningful statistics in an effort to be "proactive" rather than "reactive" regarding deficiencies in your environment.

Cost
AHE Members Free; Non-Members $59

The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) of the American Hospital Association (AHA) piloted its new certification program for environmental services workers at Renown Healthcare in Reno, Nevada.

October 08 – December 4, 2015
AHE invites those interested in presenting at its EXCHANGE 2016 to submit a proposal for review by the Conference Planning Committee.

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

J. Hudson Garrett Jr., PhD
There are many elements that go into emergency response plans, and here we’ve outlined some of the main considerations of a plan as it relates to infections prevention and control and environmental services.

Heather Williams
By now, we’re sure you’ve heard the big news: Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Technician (CHEST)—the new certification program from the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) for frontline environmental services workers—is officially rolled out, and soon hospitals across the nation will begin the very important and industry-changing work by offering classroom-style training that will transform the role of frontline environmental services specialists.