ASHE presents awards at annual conference

ASHE recently celebrated several outstanding members who are dedicated to improving the health care physical environment. They were recognized at the 51st Annual Conference last month in Chicago.

The Crystal Eagle Award, ASHE’s lifetime achievement award, was presented to George Mills, FASHE, CEM, CHFM, CHSP, director of the department of engineering at the Joint Commission.

The President’s Award, which is presented at the discretion of the sitting ASHE president to an individual who goes above and beyond to optimize the health care physical environment, was given to David L. Howard, CHFM, with Penrose Saint Francis Health Services in Colorado Springs, Colo.

ASHE also recognized members who attained senior (SASHE) and fellow (FASHE) status within ASHE.

The SASHE designation is bestowed on those who have been ASHE members in good standing for at least five years and have supported ASHE in terms of education and leadership.

New recipients included Robert A. Gance, RHSO, CHFM, SASHE, Boulder (Colo.) Medical Center; Alonzo Gonzalez, CHFM, CHESP, SASHE, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; Shelley G. Horton Jr., CHFM, SASHE, Shriners Hospital for Children, Shreveport, La.; Michael C. Mattox, CEM, LEED AP, SASHE, Schneider Electric, West Chester, Ohio; Bart K. Miller, CHFM, CHC, SASHE, St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pa.; Shadie R. Rankhorn Jr., CHFM, CHSP, LLE, SASHE, Mountain States Health Alliance, Johnson City, Tenn.; Ron Shake, CHFM, SASHE, Sullivan County (Ind.) Community Hospital; and Yeqiao Zhu, SASHE, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The FASHE designation is bestowed on those who have been ASHE members in good standing for at least seven years and have supported ASHE through education, leadership and written contributions.

The new FASHE recipient was Mark A. Mears Sr., CHFM, FASHE, Union Hospital, Elkton, Md.

Finally, ASHE announced emerging leaders from each of its 10 regions. The Emerging Regional Leader Award recognizes people for their contributions to the fields of health care engineering and facilities management; planning, design and construction; safety; clinical and biomedical engineering; and technical management.

Recipients included Lou Castelli, SUNY Upstate Medical, Syracuse, N.Y. (Region 1); Christopher J. Reitz, AIA, CHFM, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia (Region 2); William G. Baird, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, Boone, N.C. (Region 3); William A. Elrod, CHFM, Central Georgia Health System, Macon (Region 4); Kurt Martz, CHFM, Adventist Hinsdale/LaGrange Hospital, Darien, Ill. (Region 5); Ellen Rasmussen, Sanford Health, Fargo, N.D. (Region 6); Rick D. Scivally, CHFM, CHSP, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Bedford, Texas (Region 7); Michael Stallbaumer, Nemaha Valley Community Hospital, Seneca, Kan. (Region 8); Guy Samuel Shoaf Jr., CHFM, St. Mary’s Hospital & Holy Cross Hospital, Tucson, Ariz. (Region 9); and Rick McGuffey, Sky Lakes Medical Center, Klamath Falls, Ore. (Region 10). 

Important monographs available

ASHE makes important resources available to members. Following are two recently released monographs that can be accessed by ASHE members as free.

• Life Safety Code Comparison. The 2012 edition of the National Fire Protection Association’s Life Safety Code offers new design and compliance options for health care facilities that didn’t exist in previous editions. This ASHE monograph provides an exhaustive list of the changes in the new edition and a detailed comparison with the 2000 and 2009 editions.

• Room Ventilation and Airborne Disease. This ASHE monograph examines research on how room ventilation affects airborne-disease transmission in health care facilities. Farhad Memarzadeh, Ph.D., PE, examines findings that consider the effects of air changes per hour on infection transmission.

Design guidelines available to industry through ASHE

The 2014 editions of the Facility Guidelines Institute’s Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities and the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Residential Health, Care, and Support Facilities can be purchased through ASHE at www.ASHEstore.com.