Briefings in Healthcare Environmental Services

AHE CareerLink Enhanced Access to Top Jobs

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

AHE CareerLink has been updated to include titles in upper level management positions for professionals caring for the healthcare environment. AHE CareerLink is the premier electronic recruitment resource for the industry. Here, employers and recruiters can access the most qualified talent pool with relevant work experience to fulfill staffing needs. For more information go to http://careerlink.ashes.org/search.cfm.

Research opens doors to UV disinfection using LED technology

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

Research from North Carolina State University will allow the development of energy-efficient LED devices that use ultraviolet light to kill pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. The technology has a wide array of applications ranging from drinking-water treatment to sterilizing surgical tools.

Connecting sustainability to the healthcare mission

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

A hospital's mission is inextricably tied to the issue of sustainability. After all, without a sustainable operation, there is no hospital. Sustainability goals usually refer to money saved, energy conserved, waste diverted, water recycled, or any other easily understood metric. But a clear connection between sustainability and a hospital's mission, in an understandable language and with a factual basis, rarely occurs.

ASHRAE, USGBC, others compile hospital energy design guide

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

A dose of guidance to help save energy in hospitals is prescribed by the newest Advanced Energy Design Guide (AEDG), written by a group of leading building industry organizations. The AEDG for Large Hospitals is the fourth in the series, designed to provide recommendations for achieving 50 percent energy savings when compared with the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

Hospitals step up efforts to prevent infections

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

Less than a decade ago, it was considered a given that a certain number of hospital patients would acquire infections during their hospital stay and that there wasn't much that could be done to prevent it. That's been changing.

Infection Prevention White Paper shows role of environment hygiene in patient safety

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

Crothall Healthcare, an environmental services provider, has released its Infection Prevention White Paper, which includes an overview of the role of environmental hygiene in a hospital's infection prevention and control program. According to the white paper, approximately 20 percent to 40 percent of healthcare-associated infections have been attributed to hands of healthcare workers that have become contaminated from direct patient contact or by indirect contact with contaminated environmental surfaces.

Medicare's no-pay rule sharpens infection-control efforts

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

The 2008 "no-pay" rule adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to encourage hospitals to stop medical complications has led to consistently funded infection control departments, more collaboration with physicians and other front-line staff, and higher compliance with evidence-based guidelines.

MRSA pre-screening cuts transmissions, saves money

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

Screening high-risk hospital admissions for Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) reduced in-hospital MRSA transmissions, saving Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston more than $100,000 a year, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers tested a pilot active surveillance program in which staff screened patients admitted to seven intensive care units for ventilator-associated pneumonia and bloodstream infections involving MRSA, according to Pharmacy Practice News.

Veterans hospitals stay safe with a healthy dose of earthquake monitoring

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

Being in a hospital is tough enough without having to worry about how the building will hold up during an earthquake. Now, veterans in Memphis, Tenn., can rest assured knowing that their medical center, even though it is located in the most active earthquake zone in the Eastern United States, has the most sophisticated seismic structural monitoring system in the country.

Lighting it up: LED fixture manufacturers target healthcare facilities

17 May 2012 16:11:11 CDT

Light-emitting diode technology offers hospitals many advantages over traditional lighting, such as energy savings, longer life, lower heat output and design flexibility. Little wonder that it can be found everywhere from parking lots to surgical suites.