Healthcare Facilities Leadership Update
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Happy New Year! The question for 2019: Is it the right time for the Healthcare Facilities Technician(HFT) academic credential and Certified Healthcare Facilities Technician(CHFT) certification?
For those of you who are new to the HFL update or reading it for the first time, allow me to give you a quick review of the journey towards professional credentials for those working or wishing to enter the healthcare facilities technician field. Over the past couple of years, the HFL program(Mike Canales) has been presenting and gathering feedback on the need and desire to create a career pathway for technicians. There has been a consistent and growing response that it is greatly needed and that using the online instruction method combined with in the field competency based training would be effective. It would seem now is the time to launch the program, or is it?
There is still plenty of concern about the cost of education, how to implement the training, what type of incentives for those earning credentials, and how to address continuing education cost of certifications. Given that there is precedent all around us in healthcare for these concerns and that healthcare facilities is highly complex and continues to grow in complexity, the answers to these concerns have well established pathways in healthcare. It is truly just a matter of leadership acknowledging the need.
Given the success of the Healthcare Facilities Leadership(HFL) program over the past five years, enrollment from 37 states, 100% CHFM first time pass rate, success of students and graduates, and feedback from those in the program, I am confident that an HFT credential and pathway would have similar if not greater success.
In order to demonstrate the need and show the professions support, we will need to get at least 50 applicants for the program by May of 2019. Your KSHE chapter has made enrollment into the HFT program in Kentucky a priority and is supporting this effort by providing resources to communicate this effort across the state and country. If we can get 50 applicants by May, then the HFL program can move forward with a Fall 2019 start.
There will be webinars January 17th and February 14th of 2019 to explain the program and answer questions. Please share this information with your peers, leadership, and anyone else you think may be interested in the first ever academic career pathway for healthcare facilities technicians.
Hoping you have a great 2019! Feel free to contact me with any questions.
Mike Canales, Healthcare Facilities Leadership Program Director
Mike.canales@kctcs.edu PH# 270 858 8142
