Connections: December 2024 | Q4 Newsletter

In this issue:

Important Chapter Due Dates

Chapter Annual Report and Awards Application – Due April 1, 2025
The Chapter Annual Report and Awards Application portal will open on Jan. 2, 2025. An email will be sent to all chapter leaders with the portal link and important information. It will also be accessible on the Chapter Leader and Support Staff Resources page. As noted on the Q4 chapter leader/liaison call, there are no changes to the criteria for the 2025 Chapter Awards.

Important changes for this year:

The Chapter Annual Report and Awards applications have been merged into one form to remove duplicative questions and to enhance the application process. Chapters that do not want to participate in the awards application portion will have the opportunity to opt out.
The form is built in a new application software, which allows chapter leaders to work on the application, save it and finish it later. You will be required to set up a login to access the form. As this login can be used for future applications and to access past applications, we strongly encourage Chapters to set up an account that can be passed down to future chapter leaders. Additionally, this form setup allows for multiple people to work on the form together.
In the Annual Report, we’ve added a section of additional questions. Please note that this information will strictly be used to help ASHE staff create chapter management tools and resources. Your responses to these questions will not affect your ASHE Chapter standing or your Chapter Awards application.

Questions? Contact Jenny Hull, lead specialist, ASHE governance and chapter relations at jhull@aha.org or schedule a call.

Chapter Awards Program Vouchers
Chapters can request their vouchers for the 2024 Chapter Awards program beginning on Jan. 2, 2025! The form links will be sent out to all presidents, presidents-elect and support staff, and the forms will be available on the Chapter Leader and Support Staff Resources page. Your chapter’s award status can be found here. Please review the criteria before completing the forms to ensure the individual receiving the vouchers qualify.

We have revised the due dates for voucher requests to the dates below. Voucher requests will not be fulfilled after the due dates have passed.

Due June 30, 2025:
- Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference registration fee vouchers.
Due Oct. 31, 2025:
- Certified Health Care Facility Manager and Certified Health Care Constructor exam fee vouchers;
- ASHE member dues vouchers;
- ASHE publications vouchers (platinum/platinum elite and gold chapters only).

Questions? Contact Jenny Hull, lead specialist, ASHE governance and chapter relations at jhull@aha.org or schedule a call.

2026 Chapter Challenge — Commitment Form Due on April 1, 2025
The Energy to Care® Chapter Challenge program allows ASHE Chapters to participate in a friendly competition to reduce their energy consumption. Participating in the challenge is also one of the five criteria Chapters must meet to obtain “elite” status in the Chapter Awards program. To qualify for elite status in the 2026 Chapter Awards, ASHE Chapters will need to commit and participate in the 2026 Chapter Challenge. Information for the 2026 Chapter Challenge will be available in early 2025.

Questions? Contact Austin Wallace, senior specialist, ASHE sustainability at awallace@aha.org.

2025 Emerging Regional Leader Award Application — Due on April 1, 2025
This award recognizes 10 exceptional emerging leaders, one from each ASHE region, for demonstrating exceptional commitment to the field and an interest in developing further leadership skills. Young professionals and those new to the field who wish to advance their careers and advance on their path to becoming leaders should consider applying. Learn more about the Emerging Regional Leader Award and submit an application. The application will open on Feb. 2.

Contact Erin Horng, lead specialist, ASHE membership at echorng@aha.org with any questions.

ASHE Advocacy Highlight: "How the Safety Guy Made the Holidays Safer”

During this holiday season, it is important for all to celebrate, and an important part of our celebrations are decorations. Decorating can help patients take their minds off heavy topics. Decorating can improve the mood and help staff, visitors and patients focus on the joy of the seasons. Decorating can build a sense of community and make the healing environment seem more approachable and friendly.

Yet, if not done properly, decorations can have a significant impact on the safety of the healing environment. Help spread the word of how to safely decorate within the health care physical environment by sharing the ASHE video "How the Safety Guy Made the Holidays Safer."

ASHE Sustainability Highlights

Volunteer Opportunity for Professional Engineers or Registered Architects
Are you a Professional Engineer (PE) or Registered Architect (RA) and interested in volunteering within ASHE? If so, ASHE is looking for Licensed Professional (LP) members to participate in the ASHE/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pro Bono ENERGY STAR® Verification Program, where we partner LPs with hospitals that are applying to become ENERGY STAR certified but need an LP to review their application. If you are interested in participating in this program, please let us know by submitting this form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/a3258facb8f242ee9b6da52433d1eaa4

Call for Facilities to Apply to become ENERGY STAR certified
Does your hospital have an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or more and is not ENERGY STAR certified? Consider participating in the ASHE/EPA Pro Bono ENERGY STAR Verification Program, where we partner hospitals that require an LP to review their application with a licensed ASHE member to complete the verification. If you would like to help your hospital achieve ENERGY STAR certification, let us know by completing this form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/acb63520ed884034899bc412f0149368

ASHE Member Opportunities

Voices of ASHE
Voices of ASHE highlights individual members and their diverse experiences. We aim to celebrate our members and the amazing work you do, so please share your story today or nominate a colleague who you think should be featured. There are no criteria required related to years on the job, title or background. Sharing stories will inspire current members and future professionals and will broaden the health care field’s awareness of who we are and what we do. Share your story!

Join the Discussion on My ASHE!
Collaborate with your peers. Browse dynamic discussion groups enabling you to communicate with like-minded people and to grow your network of passionate people. Home - My ASHE.

Health Care Facility Technician Program in the Works

For the past year, ASHE has been collaborating with the Northshore Technical Community College (NTCC) in Hammond, La., to create a Health Care Facility Technician program. The program includes a variety of certifications, including ASHE’s Health Care Physical Environment Worker Certification and Mechanic Evaluation and Certification for Health Care (MECH). The Health Care Facility Technician program is a four-month program with classroom instruction and practical application at a supporting hospital. Students will complete a six-month externship following the completion of this course. In partnership with ASHE and North Oaks Health Systems, NTCC launched the first cohort in October 2024.

A minimum of two cohorts needs to be completed at NTCC before we expand the program. We anticipate completing this work late next year. Once we are ready to expand, we envision this being a “Health Care Facility Technician” training in a box that Chapters and other partners can use in conjunction with area community colleges/postsecondary institutions and hospital/health care systems.

What is needed to effectively run this program:

Host Chapter;
Instructor to teach the provided course content;
Partner community college;
Hospitals ready to accept externships and provide hands-on application.

What can I do now to prepare for this?
Build relationships with area community colleges/postsecondary institutions and hospital/health care systems.

Interested in learning more? Sign up to receive updates here.

Get Ready for Your 2025 Education Programming with ASHE’s Hosted Programs

ASHE’s hosted programs allow ASHE Chapters, health care organizations and private companies as well as government and military groups to deliver the highest quality educational programming focused on optimizing the health care physical environment in the marketplace without having to spend money to develop that training curriculum on their own. Programming ASHE hosted programs that align with ASHE’s Health Care Facilities Core Competency Framework™ and product pathways can help your chapter’s customers, members and community to successfully progress in their career development.

ASHE Chapters and regional conferences such as the Arkansas Association for Healthcare Engineering, Inc., Healthcare Engineers Society of Northern Illinois, Indiana Society for Healthcare Engineering, Kansas City Area Healthcare Engineers, New England Healthcare Engineers’ Society, North Carolina Healthcare Engineers Association Inc.,, Northern Ohio Society for Healthcare Engineering, Oklahoma Association of Healthcare Engineers, Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management, Virginia Society of Healthcare Engineers, Washington State Society for Healthcare Engineering and ASHE Region Six Conference have all leveraged ASHE hosted programs to help educate their members.

Get started on bringing in-person, Live Online Training and On Demand ASHE hosted program education to your chapter members. Learn more about how ASHE hosted programs can support your chapter’s member professional development needs.

Explore the First-Of-Its-Kind, ASHE’s Health Care Facilities Core Competency Framework™

Find the resources you need.
Ensure you have the right combination of skills.
Succeed in your career and positively impact care delivery.
Health care facilities have become increasingly complex, meaning health care facilities managers must have a combination of skills, knowledge and ability in order to effectively lead a multidisciplinary team that can identify, prioritize and resolve an ever-adapting list of issues. ASHE’s Health Care Facilities Core Competency Framework charts out key skills of health care facilities management, and offers education, resources and tools to help professionals fill knowledge gaps in each area. Becoming an expert in each of the eight core competencies — and having a comprehensive understanding of their impact on care delivery — will ensure you are current in your professional expertise and primed for advancement in the field. Most importantly, the framework helps facilities managers gain the understanding needed to ensure patients and health care providers have a safe, comfortable and cost-efficient environment.

Train Those New to the Field with ASHE’s Health Care Facilities Management Essentials Series

ASHE is thrilled to share its trailblazing series offering the first consistent, authoritative resource on health care facilities management to ensure that all health care facilities managers can easily obtain the same, essential baseline information they need to do their jobs effectively. The series is made up of handbooks and educational programs. Choose a handbook for a repository of best practices and information you can continually reference; perfect orientations for early careerists’ first years on the job, and reliable resources for those beyond. Choose an educational program for practice implementing key concepts.

Get connected with this one-of-its-kind educational opportunity today.

Chapter Resources

Chapter Calendar — Your go-to source for all upcoming ASHE due dates, calls and events, as well as a space to share your ASHE Chapter’s upcoming events. If you’d like to add your event to the calendar, please submit a Chapter Calendar Request Form.
Chapter Communications and Meeting Recordings — Missed a chapter leader/liaison call or can’t find an important chapter communication? All chapter communications, recordings and PowerPoints are saved here.
Chapter Contacts Update Form — Make sure you and your Chapter are receiving all important ASHE communications! Fill out the contact update form when your chapter’s officers or support staff change, or if you need someone added to the communications distribution list.