Nominate your team for ES Department of the Year

More environmental services (ES) teams will have a chance to shine in 2014. But first, you'll need to enter the 2014 ES Department of the Year competition, sponsored jointly by Health Facilities Management and the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE).

Currently in its eighth year, this program recognizes top-performing U.S. hospital ES teams. All applications must be for a single hospital, although health systems may create separate applications for more than one of their facilities. A panel of judges selected by AHE and HFM will score the applications.

There have been several important modifications in the program this year that will give more hospitals a chance to earn recognition. Awards are given to the highest-scoring teams based on performance in 13 critical areas.

There will be three eligible awards based on bed size of the individual hospital, and judges will decide whether there is an appropriate winner in each of the following categories: fewer than 150 beds, 150–450 beds and more than 450 beds. Certificates of merit also may be awarded in each category, depending on applicants' scores.

Visit www.hfmmagazine.com/2014ESDepartment to access the online application form. While on the site, you can view previous winning entries. The deadline to submit entries is May 23.

The winners of this year's awards will be profiled in the September issue of HFM and recognized at the AHE conference Sept. 21–24 in Tampa, Fla. For more information on the conference or to register, visit www.ahe.org.