Infection Control Today
Sterile processing professionals have cited an urgent need for better training to ensure medical devices and instruments are properly cleaned and patients are protected. They said many hospital executives fail to appreciate the time and commitment it takes to effectively train staff in sterile processing practices.

Jeff Ferenc, Health Facilities Management
Hackensack University Medical Center (HackensackUMC), Bergen County, N.J., is working with the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), Washington, D.C., to push the federal government to establish stronger regulations on the use of chemicals in health care and other products.

European Cleaning Journal
There have been many products tried and tested in the realm of hospital and healthcare in the quest to discover the most effective cleaner in an industry where hygiene is paramount.

Jaime Ferreira, Facility Care
Quaternary ammonium chloride (QAC) compounds are the most common active ingredient found in disinfectants used in healthcare environments.

Infection Control Today
SCA, a global hygiene leader and forest products company that produces the Tork® brand of away-from-home (AfH) professional hygiene products, announces its corporate champion sponsorship with the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE), the organization of choice for professionals responsible for caring for the patient and resident care environment across all care settings.

Facility Care
Winter can be tough on floors, creating opportunities for employees, patients and visitors to track in snow, slush, salt and other snow-melting materials as they enter healthcare facilities. And spring doesn’t offer much relief, as mud replaces slush, which also finds its way into buildings.

Marty Stempniak, Health Facilities Management
Researcher shares lessons learned from 14 ED observations on how to reduce health care associated infections.

Jennifer Kovacs Silvis, Healthcare Design
Twenty years ago it was a "forgone conclusion" that some patients would contract a healthcare-associated infection (HAI), said Linda Dickey, senior director of quality, safety, and infection prevention at the University of California Irvine Medical Center.

Infection Control Today
According to this week’s FluView report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu activity increased in the United States.

Max Green, Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality
A fabric coating that isolates virus particles could be applied to air filters and masks to prevent the transmission of flu virus, according to a report from The Telegraph.

Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post
So far, in the United States, 258 people have gone to hospitals with the Zika virus — the mosquito-borne disease that has spread quickly through much of Latin America.

Stephanie Vozza, Fast Company
Some people are born leaders, but that doesn’t mean they want to step into management roles at work.

Lisa Quast, Forbes
Leadership and navigation is the most critical competency for businesses now and in the next decade, according to a recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey.

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.

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

To acknowledge the ongoing and outstanding sustainability efforts of healthcare facilities - and environmental service departments in particular - the AHE presents the Environmental Sustainability Certificate Program. This program not only provides guidance on efficient, effective and value-added environmentally sustainable healthcare operations, but also provides it in such a way that is achievable within all budgets. It is part of the AHE’s overall sustainability initiative, which includes ongoing development of sustainability programs, publications and educational opportunities.

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
Healthcare Marketplace

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 health care environmental services professionals.

Developed by the Association for the Healthcare Environment and Kimberly-Clark Professional, the Heart of Healthcare Award recognizes and honors outstanding frontline environmental services technicians making a contribution to support safety initiatives and reduction and prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). The program purpose is to elevate the critical role that frontline environmental services technicians play in the care of patients and the healthcare environment. Step up for someone you know is doing an outstanding job in environmental services by nominating him or her today!
Applications Due June 17, 2016.

Interviews with Gary L. Dolan, Pam Toppel, J. Hudson Garrett, Jr., Lea Beach, Lisa Ford, Doug Rothermel, and Brad M. Winnie

Creating a Career Portfolio; Empowering Employees