Connections: September 2024 | Q3 Newsletter

In this issue:

New! Chapter Annual Calendar of Duties Template Now Available

The Chapter Leadership Committee has created a new resource for ASHE Chapters: The Chapter Annual Calendar of Duties Template. This calendar is a helpful year-at-a-glance tool for planning, staying on track and passing processes down to the next Chapter leaders. The template has been created in Excel and contains tips and tricks to help you best utilize the resource. We’ve pre-populated some items for you that include typical Chapter functions and duties as well as ASHE conferences and important due dates.

Download the template here. If you have any questions, please contact Jenny Hull.

Chapter Leadership Forum Attendance Update

Due to the CrowdStrike outage that impacted flights across the country, a number of Chapter leaders were not able to attend the Chapter Leadership Forum, which is required for the Chapter Awards program. To ensure Chapters are able to maintain their award eligibility, ASHE will provide attendance credit to Chapter leaders who were not able to arrive in Anaheim, Calif. in time for the Chapter Leadership Forum.

For Chapter leaders to obtain this credit, they need to have been 1) registered for the 2024 Chapter Leadership Forum and 2) must email Jenny Hull by September 30, 2024. In the email, please provide your name, Chapter, and note that you were affected by the CrowdStrike outage. ASHE will track these emails and provide exemptions to the affected Chapter leaders for the 2025 Chapter Awards. If you have already emailed Jenny, you are all set and do not need to do anything further.

Reminder: ASHE Chapter Contest — Help promote the Core Competency Framework!

At ASHE's Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference this past July, we launched our new Core Competency Framework. ASHE’s new Core Competency Framework lays out what facilities managers need to know to adapt to the unique and challenging demands of maintaining a high-performance facility.

Help ASHE promote the Core Competency Framework between September 1 and November 1 and be entered for a chance to win 25 e-Learning seats for the Building Success in Health Care Project Management ASHE education program. Official Rules are included in the "Core Competency Toolkit". Chapter leaders and support staff were sent the official rules, template text, and social media graphics on August 29.

If you have any questions or did not receive the email, please contact Jenny Hull.

The ASHE Election results are in!

ASHE members elected Dennis Ford, director of corporate facilities management support at Atrium Health, as the 2025 ASHE president-elect. Ford will serve a one-year term as president-elect beginning January 1, 2025, and a one-year term as president in 2026. Read the press release to learn about the newly elected Advisory Board members.

ASHE Advocacy Highlight: Concealed Sprinkler Data Collection Project

ASHE is actively gathering data on concealed fire sprinklers to enhance safety protocols. Concealed sprinklers, defined in NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and referenced in NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems, are designed with a cover plate to aesthetically blend into the ceiling, making them less obtrusive. However, this design necessitates periodic inspection to ensure functionality and prevent premature activation. In 2022, the NFPA 25 committee proposed a five-year inspection interval to align with other maintenance activities requiring similar equipment, optimizing resource utilization.

ASHE requests your data so that we can help the committee develop a practical method for ensuring concealed fire sprinklers remain functional. Learn more by visiting ashe.org. If you have any questions about the project, please contact Chad Beebe.

Application Now Open for ASHE’s Shadow a Leader Program!

Apply for the chance to shadow a leader at the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference or the Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) Summit with free attendance. Learn more about the application criteria and what’s included at www.ashe.org/shadow-leader-program, and submit your application no later than October 28, 2024.

Get ready to celebrate National Health Care Facilities and Engineering Week!

October 20-26, 2024
Every year, in the last week of October, ASHE celebrates the important role that facilities team members have in ensuring a safe and efficient physical environment for all patients, residents, visitors and staff within hospitals.

Join the celebration by ordering gifts for your team and find out more details and ways to get involved on the ASHE website.

Elevate Your Chapter's Student Engagement with the Facilithon Program's Educational Landscape Survey

As part of ASHE’s strategic commitment to supporting career advancement, succession planning and workforce development, we have collaborated with FM Pipeline to increase young adult talent via their high school program, the SkillsUSA Facilithon competition.

As FM Pipeline works to create new Facilithon programs across the States, they are looking for ASHE Chapters to help them grow the NextGen. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved with Facilithon, please take this survey to help them identify new or existing Facilithon programs in your state.

Is Your Chapter Interested in Hosting ASHE Education?

Enhance your chapter meeting or conference by hosting an ASHE education program. Our 2024 calendar is filling up, so act now to submit your request(s) online or email Melissa Binotti Heim at mheim@aha.org for program details and pricing.

Why host?

ASHE’s expert faculty come straight to your members.
Hosting a program fulfills a wildcard option that will help to meet the requirements for getting a chapter award.
Chapters get special discounted pricing!

Please note that:

All requests should be submitted 90 days before the desired program date via the request form.
Education programs are provided on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to faculty availability.
There is a minimum fee for 1-25 attendees for all programs (except for the Health Care Construction Workshop, which has a minimum fee for 1-40 attendees).

Stay Current with ASHE Webinars, On-Demand Library and Lunch and Learns!

ASHE’s vast collection of webinars and Lunch & Learn recordings covers a wide variety of topics in the health care facilities field including operations, management, planning, design and construction. Webinar content is provided by leaders in the field covering topics essential to your health care facility’s success. Choose between live virtual webinars or on-demand — do the option that works best for you!

ASHE’s Core Competency Framework Streamlines Skills Development

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 multi-disciplinary 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. Learn more about how ASHE's Core Competency Framework can help you succeed in your career and have a positive impact on the care environment.

Health Care Facilities Management Handbook Series Continues to Grow

Attendees of the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference received a complimentary copy of ASHE’s Introduction to Health Care Facilities Management handbook to celebrate the launch of the Core Competency Framework. ASHE’s Health Care Facilities Management Handbook Series is the first consistent, authoritative resource on health care facilities management ensuring that all facilities professionals can easily obtain the same, essential baseline information they need to do their jobs effectively. In addition to the Introduction to Health Care Facilities Management handbook, additional series installments on health care project management as well as compliance are currently available for sale. Handbooks on finance and administration are expected to launch before the end of 2024. And in 2025, handbooks on maintenance and operations, assessing risk, and sustainability/energy management will be launched. This core competency-based handbook series will be accompanied with new ASHE education courses that focus on the practical application of the knowledge you can gain from the handbooks. Visit the handbook series webpage to learn more about how these resources can help support your career advancement.

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 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 — Miss 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.