Infection Control Today
The number of bed bug infestations across the United States has risen over the past several years, and that’s bad news for travelers. Fortunately, there are precautionary measures that everyone can take to avoid bringing unwanted guests into their home.

Adam Strizzi, FacilityCare
Ask most building owners and managers what green cleaning is all about and they will likely say it refers to using cleaning chemicals that have less impact on the environment when compared with non-green cleaning chemicals.

Jamie Morgan, Healthcare Facilities Management
Have you incorporated noise-reducing interior finishes to dull the thuds from foot traffic and the hums of medical equipment in your health facility?

Suzy Frisch, Health Facilities Management
Taking advantage of utility incentives can help to reduce the cost of implementing energy-efficiency projects.

Maxine Levy, New York Times
When the revamped Parkland Hospital in Dallas opened recently, each of the 862 single-patient rooms in the sprawling new 17-story tower was ready to accommodate the growing number of obese patients that hospitals across the country increasingly care for.

Zack Budryk, FierceHealthcare
The health care industry's long-held "top-down" management model no longer suits the modern environment, and must be replaced with a new model that better supports frontline workers, argues a Health Affairs blog post.

CleanLink
With 12 confirmed dead and more than 120 cases of infection due to legionellosis, New York City Council on Thursday adopted legislation that requires adherence to part of ASHRAE’s newly published Legionella standard.

Ilene MacDonald, FierceHealthcare
In an effort to improve patient satisfaction, most hospitals rely on the national HCAHPS survey to gauge patients' perspectives on care. But a new white paper says that while the survey findings provide insight into the patient experience, the survey tool isn't designed to provide the high-level details that hospitals need to link patient satisfaction with business performance.

Troy Brown, RN, Medscape
Clinicians should consider human plague in any patient who has compatible symptoms and has reasonable risk factors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key risk factors include residing or traveling in the western United States, recent proximity to rodent habitats, or direct contact with rodents or sick domestic animals.

Infection Control Today
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is the leading cause of childhood respiratory hospitalizations among premature babies, can be detected from the clothes worn by caregivers and visitors who are visiting infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), according to research being presented at the International Conference on Emerging and Infectious Diseases in Atlanta.

Heather Punke, Becker’s Infection Control & Clinical Quality
San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare interviewed patients and family members for a hand hygiene video titled "It's OK to Ask."

Infection Control Today
Experts show that while Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), a viral respiratory illness, is infecting less people, it has a higher mortality rate and affects a specific target population when compared to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

Fran Matso Lysiak, FierceHealthcare
Clinicians must no longer have the right to refuse to follow best practices for hand hygiene and influenza vaccinations, according to leading patient safety advocates in a Health Affairs blog post.

Steven Benna, Business Insider
Today's business world is as complex as ever. And it's always changing. Ray Carvey, executive vice president of corporate learning at Harvard Business Publishing, a subsidiary of the Harvard Business School, says management structures today are very different than 20 years ago, namely because of the middle manager.

Stephanie Vozza, Fast Company
The average human has an eight-second attention span—less than that of a goldfish, according to a 2015 study from Microsoft. That number has shrunk over the years due to our digital connectedness and the fact that the brain is always seeking out what’s new and what’s next.

EXPRESS is a mobile learning platform that offers educational podcasts delivered by environmental services and infection prevention thought leaders. You asked for a learning opportunities that required less of a time commitment, and we delivered!

Wednesday, Sept. 30
Complimentary for AHE members!
In this webinar our panel of experts will outline and discuss emergency preparedness strategy and tactics that include environmental services leaders’ evolving role, and lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak, now considered the worst health crisis to hit the world in 35 years.

Want to propel yourself to the next level of your career? Demonstrate your expertise and commitment to environmental services excellence by seeking your FAHE designation through AHE. The designation of AHE Fellow (FAHE) recognizes current AHE members for reaching the highest level of self and or professional education and achievement in both the association and in the environmental services field.

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.

There are a number of new pre-conference workshops this year, including CHEST Train-the-Trainer, Communicate, Lead, Succeed, and the TeamStepps Essentials Course. In addition, new this year is Express@EXCHANGE, which will offer short 30-minute express style learning sessions that bring both convenience and learning together. More than 30 Learning Labs will be available to choose from—covering everything from leadership and waste management to textile management and sustainability.

Paul Picciurro, CHESP
Same old, same old, over and over again. Environmental services leaders are required to train their staff on cleaning procedures, safety topics and human resources policies. Teaching the same topics year after year gets flat out boring—even for the leaders!