Special report

ASHE Annual Conference preview

Inspiration, technical expertise and regulatory guidance are on tap at this month's event
|

Photo courtesy of ASHE

Health facility professionals rely on education, resources and networking opportunities to stay informed on current trends and issues related to the health care physical environment.

The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) 56th Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition, which will attract more than 4,000 attendees to Baltimore on July 14-17, will help them map the course of health care and further develop their career paths.

ASHE’s conference is designed to give health care facility management professionals the tools they need to stay abreast of changes affecting the health care built environment, while discovering and honing leadership qualities that benefit their organization as a whole.

With approximately 40 sessions, professionals can earn up to 33 contact hours in just five days as well as evaluate a wide range of products and services offered by more than 370 exhibitors on-site.

Recreational and social activities are also on the agenda, as well as thought-provoking general sessions, including:

Keynote: “Why Winners Win.” Robyn Benincasa, world champion adventure racer, 2014 CNN Hero, full-time firefighter and New York Times bestselling author, will discuss how the “Best of the Best” experience times of great challenge and change just like everyone else. But with characteristic courage, luck, adversity management skills and a keen ability to create synergy with their colleagues, they possess the ability to continually motivate and inspire themselves and those around them to the top in any endeavor. 

“Cybersecurity & Vendor Risk Management.” Expanding the use of technology in health care provides significant benefits, but it also requires an infrastructure that adequately protects hospital employees, patients and their families from cybersecurity threats. In this session, John Riggi will discuss the steps that the American Hospital Association is taking to help hospitals ensure reliable and secure access to data. There are many potential entry points for hackers to access health care facilities, and hospitals should prepare for cybersecurity risks as a key component of business continuity frameworks.

“Operational Excellence Leadership – Investing in the HealthCare Physical Environment.” Developing a culture of operational excellence is more of an ongoing journey than an ultimate destination. The pursuit of operational excellence must focus on not only meeting short-term goals but also assuring that improvement processes center around the mission and resiliency of the organization. This session provides operational excellence principles and specific examples of methods that health care leaders are using to derive the greatest value from the physical environment to create a culture of operational excellence.

“Health Care Regulatory Insights: Will You Comply?” In this session, the director of infection prevention and control for The Joint Commission will describe the hierarchical process for ensuring compliance with standards as well as how that process is being used during surveys to focus on high-risk issues. The session will:

  • Describe the approach for ensuring compliance with Joint Commission infection control standards.
  • Review infection risks as well as key interventions.
  • Identify practices to decrease risks.
  • Provide examples of situations that could lead to certain survey findings.

“Just Ask ASHE Codes and Standards Forum.” ASHE’s codes and standards experts will discuss emerging regulatory issues and offer answers to specific questions asked by attendees.

The educational and networking opportunities made available through the ASHE conference are crucial to a professional’s success as the shifting health care landscape requires facility managers to wear many hats, take on new responsibilities and “do more with less.”