Jeff Ferenc, Health Facilities Management
While hospitals are largely exempt from California’s 25 percent water-reduction mandate that went into effect last year, some are making strong contributions to the state’s conservation efforts through a variety of strategies.

Jeff Ferenc, Health Facilities Management
Clostridium difficile increases hospital costs by 40 percent for each infected person and puts each at higher risk for a longer hospital stay and readmission, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Jay Greene, Crain's Detroit Business
Physicians in Flint sounded the alarms early last fall about possible lead poisoning.
Now, local healthcare providers and insurers are helping the city respond to the crisis.

Julie Bird, FierceHealthcare
Hospitals could treat more patients, increase revenue, and improve patient satisfaction if they hired more staff to work directly with patients, a new study finds.

Infection Control Today
According to this week’s Fluview report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu activity remains low across most of the country but is showing slight increases.

Carol Clark, Infection Control Today
The Zika virus, unlike other mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue, is relatively unknown and unstudied. That is set to change since Zika, now spreading through Latin America and the Caribbean, has been associated with an alarming rise in babies born in Brazil with abnormally small heads and brain defects—a condition called microcephaly.

Jamie Morgan, Health Facilities Management
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is partnering with hand sanitizer manufacturer GOJO Industries to produce and distribute unbranded hand-hygiene educational materials and tools for patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers in U.S. healthcare facilities.

Shannon Barnet, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
New research published in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology reveals the preoperative antibiotics providers choose can impact the risk of surgical site infections in women who have a hysterectomy.

Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Harvard Business Review
We know that emotions are contagious. Research by UC San Diego’s James Fowler and Harvard’s Nicholas Christakis has shown that happiness is contagious, for example. If you have a friend who is happy, the probability that you will be happier rises by 25 percent.

Rich Fernandez, Harvard Business Review
It can be tough enough to manage your own stress. But how can you, as a manager, help the members of your team handle their feelings of stress, burnout, or disengagement?

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

This new and intensive 20-hour certificate program will provide environmental services leaders and professionals with the requisite knowledge to meet the CMS requirements for a "trained" professional in infection prevention and control specific to the clinical environment of care.

This new certification for environmental services professionals covers all aspects of a frontline worker’s typical tasks and accountabilities. A Train-the-Trainer (TTT) model is employed to minimize costs while maximize reach and impact. In this program frontline staff/technicians, trainers and managers will be trained on the curriculum, competencies and proficiencies required to certify technicians. This is a 3-day training session runs from September 22-24, 2016 (TH, F, S) at the Westin Convention Center.

Applications due June 17, 2016
The AHE awards and recognition program acknowledges and elevates professionals who have demonstrated the highest level of excellence and leadership. We encourage you to nominate your peers, but don't hesitate to nominate yourselves as well. All awards will be presented at the 2016 EXCHANGE in Pittsburgh, PA.

EXCHANGE 2016 will be held on September 25-28, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA. This year, EXCHANGE attendees can look forward to: Infection Prevention Certificate of Mastery Preconference Program for Environmental Services Leaders; Preconference Workshop; CHEST Preconference Workshop; Micro Sessions; and the Healthcare Marketplace.

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, NV. Renown is the first healthcare system in the USA to implement the Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Technician (CHEST) program, designed to set performance and knowledge criteria for frontline technicians in healthcare.

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

25 essential considerations for evaluating the healthcare laundry.
Gregory Gicewicz, EXPLORE magazine

An interview with Jamie Cadenas, CHESP, and Dan Beaver, MBA, CHESP, CHFM, EXPLORE magazine