Improve earning potential with professional certification

Adding a few letters after your name potentially can equate to a few thousand dollars. Becoming a Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) or a Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC) reflects your dedication to the field and can improve your earning potential.

For example, a 2012 salary survey conducted by ASHE and Health Facilities Management showed that the average salary for those with the CHFM credential was $10,000 higher than for those without it. Take the next step in your career and register to take the CHC or CHFM exam this year.

CHC and CHFM certifications are administered and awarded by the American Hospital Association (AHA) Certification Center. To earn either credential, a candidate must meet certain eligibility requirements and pass a certification exam. Credentials are renewed every three years by obtaining continuing education credits.

Eligibility requirements for the CHC and CHFM programs are a blend of formal education and health care-specific experience, such as holding a bachelor’s degree and having at least three years of qualifying experience. Exact requirements can be found in the CHC and CHFM candidate handbooks.

ASHE members receive discounts on application fees for the two-hour, multiple-choice exams. The CHFM exam includes questions on code compliance; planning, design and construction; maintenance and operations; finance; and administration. The CHC exam covers health care industry fundamentals; planning, design and construction; health care facility safety; and financial stewardship.

Use the following resources to help prepare for the CHC and CHFM exams.

• Candidate handbooks. CHC and CHFM candidate handbooks are available on the AHA Certification Center website (www.aha.org/certifcenter). They include eligibility requirements, a detailed framework of the topics covered, sample questions and more.

• Self-assessment examination (SAE). While the questions are different from those on the certification exam, the SAE parallels the CHFM and CHC exams in format, content and cognitive levels. It also is available on the AHA Certification Center website.

• ASHE workshops. ASHE review courses cover key competency areas. A review course for the CHFM exam is being offered May 6–7 in Williamsburg, Va. Both the CHFM preparation workshop and the CHFM exam are being offered in Boston in July at the ASHE Annual Conference. The CHC review course is being offered April 30 and Sept. 24 in Chicago, April 1 and May 6–7 in Dulles and Williamsburg, Va., respectively, and Oct. 16 in Atlanta. Learn more or register at www.ashe.org/education.

Deanna Martin is the communications manager for ASHE.

ASHE INSIGHTS

Important monographs available from ASHE

Following are two recently released monographs that can be accessed by ASHE members as free PDFs at www.ashe.org/management_monographs.

• 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. It provides an exhaustive list of the changes in the new edition and a detailed comparison with the 2000 and 2009 editions.

• Managing Hospital Emergency Power Systems: Testing, Operation, Maintenance, Vulnerability Mitigation, and Power Failure Planning. Hospitals must take a holistic approach to emergency power (EP) systems, blending utility management with emergency management and infrastructure master planning. This monograph describes a complete EP system management program intended to satisfy these needs.

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 at www.ASHEstore.com.