Calling top ES teams

The editors of Health Facilities Management (HFM) are encouraging all top-performing environmental services (ES) teams to enter our annual ES Department of the Year competition.

Founded eight years ago by HFM in cooperation with the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE), the program honors ES departments that excel in areas like infection prevention, waste management and patient satisfaction through innovative approaches to staff training, collaboration with other hospital departments and adoption of new technologies, among other strategies.

As recent winners such as Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pa.; University of Wisconsin (Madison) Hospital and Clinics; Advocate Christ Medical Center and Hope Children's Hospital, Oak Lawn, Ill.; and Doylestown (Pa.) Hospital have found, the program not only provides well-deserved attention to outstanding ES departments, but also gives them a platform to share their knowledge with their peers through a profile article in HFM and recognition at the AHE annual conference Sept. 21–24 in Tampa, Fla.

What's more, there have been several modifications to the program that will give more hospitals a chance to earn recognition. This year, for instance, 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 applicant scores.

So, please visit www.HFMmagazine.com/2014ESDepartment to access the online application form. While on the site, you also can view previous winning entries.

But, hurry! The deadline for submissions is May 23.