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The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition will be held July 17-20 in Boston, attracting thousands of health care facilities professionals to network with peers, learn about new developments in the field and find solutions to challenges.

Attendees can customize their conference experiences with a mix of keynotes, educational sessions, networking, vendor visits and more. This event provides health facilities professionals with the opportunity to:

  • Earn more than 15 continuing education credits and use them towards Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) and Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC) renewal.
  • Connect with other leaders and solutions providers in health facilities management through innovative networking opportunities.
  • Participate in sessions covering topics related to codes and compliance, sustainability and efficiency, infection prevention and more.

Keynote and general sessions

In addition to a wide range of concurrent technical sessions and a world-class exhibition of products and service providers, the ASHE Annual Conference will feature engaging general sessions, including the following:

  • “Welcome, Awards and Keynote – Leadership Under Pressure.” The opening session will include a keynote address by Sudip Bose, M.D., one of America’s foremost doctors on mass casualty, disaster care, post-traumatic stress disorder and now the coronavirus pandemic. Bose takes audiences through some of his most daunting experiences leading in times of crisis. With inspiring optimism, Bose shares proven strategies to stay grounded in the face of overwhelming circumstances, lead under pressure and make tough decisions even in the most unconventional environments. His presentation will help attendees develop leadership with integrity; read situations quickly, set clear priorities and make tough decisions; enhance communication strategies to better engage employees; and continuously be in a state of high-impact productivity.

After this exciting kickoff, the conference will host a wide range of thought-provoking general sessions, including:

  • “Desiloing Health Care for a More Sustainable World.” With health care accounting for approximately 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, environmental sustainability and decarbonization of health care are at the forefront of the climate action conversation. Climate deadlines and calls to action dominate the evening news and legislative agendas. However, the idea of decarbonizing the entire health care sector is more than a little overwhelming.

Desiloing the health care field and taking a team approach will be key in preparing for the future. In this session, a panel of experts will dive into a holistic view of health care sustainability. Experts will provide an overview of the complex concepts of environmental sustainability and decarbonization through a strategic lens, and provide perspective on changing culture and engaging teams to work together in a joint effort to move the needle.

  • “‘Decomplicating’ the Mystery Around Reliability Asset Management.” As health care facilities professionals continue forward on the journey toward operational excellence, it is important to take a step back, examine the current state of facility asset management philosophy and gain an understanding of how a focus on reliability can enhance the patient care experience.

This presentation will describe how reliability-centered maintenance is leveraged to determine the maintenance requirements of any physical asset; identify opportunities to evolve outdated “just-in-case” calendar-based maintenance strategies towards reducing risk, based on evidence of need; present the DIPF (design, instillation, potential failure, failure) curve and discuss failure patterns; and think beyond preventive maintenance and begin to unlock the potential of condition-based maintenance and predictive maintenance.

  • “Hospital Supply Chain: What in the World Do We Do Next?” As the health care field moves further into year three of the pandemic, it is faced with a growing scope of supply chain and raw material shortages and disruptions. This session will encourage attendees to learn and actively discuss the pre-COVID-19 supply chain, the evolution of the pandemic and supply shortages, and strategic areas of focus to reimagine the health care supply chain.

This presentation will analyze the perfect storm of supply chain and other issues as COVID-19 spread across the U.S.; describe the evolution of supply shortages and disruptions as the pandemic progressed; identify the key factors leading to supply and raw material shortages and disruptions; and discuss key strategic themes as we reimagine the health care supply chain.

  • “ASHE Annual Business Meeting and Recognition Breakfast.” Join ASHE’s executive director and Advisory Board president to celebrate award winners, discuss ASHE’s recent achievements, and gain insight into the exciting plans ASHE has in store. 

Pre-conference workshops add to the ASHE experience

The American Society for Health Care Engineering’s (ASHE’s) pre-conference workshops are known for their high ratings and great takeaway value. Take advantage of these intimate, discussion-focused, skill-building sessions to walk away with practical tools (e.g., workbooks, templates, checklists and case studies), new skills to aid professional advancement, ideas that can be applied within organizations and new connections with peers and faculty.

Choose from these five pre-conference workshops on July 17 at the ASHE 2022 Annual Conference:

  • “Managing a Life Safety Program.” This course will provide information and resources to manage a facility’s life safety program, and to decipher the various requirements of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, and other standards.
  • “Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA 2.0) Process: Train-the-Trainer.” Take part in a training of trainers to engage meaningful infection prevention by using the ASHE Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA 2.0) tool, an ICRA 2.0 Process Guide and train-the-trainer materials to take back and use.
  • “Physical Environment Readiness Program: The Care Environment Module.” This program will help health care facilities professionals prepare for The Joint Commission Environment of Care survey. It will cover the entire survey process, regulations including National Fire Protection Association codes and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services conditions of participation, and common areas of deficiencies.
  • “Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) Exam Prep Program.” Gain confidence in the five key competency areas of the CHFM exam. Through a combination of lectures, CHFM-formatted practice test questions, and study materials, participants will feel more prepared to take the CHFM exam and also learn best practices for taking a computer-based test.
  • “Asset Management and Reliability-Centered Maintenance Symposium.” Speakers will include Terrence O’Hanlon, CMRP, the publisher of reliabilityweb.com, RELIABILITY magazine and Uptime magazine, as well as Maura Abad, the global director of Women in Reliability and Asset Management with the Association of Asset Management Professionals and the global relationship leader for reliabilityweb.com.