Building up the health facility management community

ASHE exists for and because of its members. Professionals who support the design, construction, operations and maintenance of health care facilities come together to form this diverse and supportive community. ASHE members work together to optimize the physical health care environment and provide safe, cost-effective patient care environments. This mission is ASHE’s North Star, driving the organization’s strategic direction and the development of advocacy, education and member resources. Success in this quest is the result of passionate and committed members.

ASHE’s board of directors continually reviews and refines its strategic plan to ensure that it is relevant to the rapidly shifting health care landscape. As part of this process, ASHE identifies strategic imperatives that affect members and their organizations. They are:

Sustainability. Members responsible for facility asset management will plan and operate these assets at an optimal cost effectiveness, resulting in reduced energy consumption and improved patient comfort. They will share their lessons learned, case studies and basic usage data among fellow members at the local, regional and national levels. Their system planning and operations will support the mission of their organization by achieving highly reliable results resilient to the adverse effects of severe weather.

Succession planning. Increase the awareness and reputation of health care facilities management by talking about the field as a viable career with growth opportunities, and by ensuring that health care facilities are led by qualified, competent professionals.

Member value. Members will receive full value for their ASHE membership, far exceeding their investment of time and money. They will feel connected to ASHE at a professional and personal level, and demonstrate ASHE values of integrity, innovation, fellowship and stewardship. They will have confidence in their ability to articulate the value that they — and their teams — generate to achieving the mission and goals of their health care organizations.

In addition to the Member Value, Sustainability, and Succession Planning committees, ASHE also has a standing Regulatory Affairs Committee to address compliance issues.

In addition to ASHE committees, members offer their time and expertise to help develop programs for the PDC Summit and ASHE Annual Conference, review article submissions from members and participate in advocacy initiatives. If you would like to get involved in supporting these efforts, sign up at www.ashe.org/volunteer. It takes a community to optimize the health care physical environment and we welcome you to participate in this important work.

P.J. Andrus is executive director of 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 the resource library.

• HCAHPS Scores, the Patient Experience, and the Affordable Care Act from the Facility Perspective. This new ASHE monograph explores how the health care physical environment and facility professionals can improve patient satisfaction scores.
• Risk Assessment of Medical Equipment. A key part of the Joint Commission’s environment of care management plans, risk assessments of medical equipment are covered in this new ASHE monograph. It presents a framework for facilities professionals to follow.

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.