CHICAGO — Bringing together professionals involved in textile care, infection prevention, environmental services and other areas, the Association for the Healthcare Environment’s (AHE) annual educational event—EXCHANGE 2014—will be presented Sept. 21-24 in Tampa, Fla.
AHE expects this year’s event to attract more than 700 professionals, including those responsible for budgets related to laundry processing, linen/laundry contract management and distribution/textile processing.
“Each session is designed to include pragmatic ideas, strategies and tactics that will keep you abreast of changes as you look to the future,” says Mike Bailey, CHESP, 2014 AHE president, in a conference brochure.
AHE says more than 200 exhibitors will be present, including laundry equipment and supplies companies, uniform companies and textile care companies.
The four-day event will feature general sessions covering patient experience, effective communication, constructing purposeful leadership and new approaches to service and culture. Speakers in the “learning labs” will discuss topics such as textiles’ role in preventing outbreaks; efforts to reduce patient linen loss; the role of the healthcare environment in transmission; and implementing and maintaining a hospital waste program, among others.
Social activities and opportunities to network include the AHE annual golf event, “brewed awakenings” breakfasts, an exhibitor summit and several receptions. Participants can also attend a review session for the Certified Healthcare Environmental Services Professional (CHESP) Examination before taking the exam on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Among the honors to be presented at the conference are the AHE Innovation award, the Excellence in Safety and Quality Improvement in Environmental Services award, the Heart of Healthcare award, and the Phoenix award, the association’s highest honor.
AHE, a “personal membership group” of the American Hospital Association, represents more than 2,000 professionals involved in resident care environments in hospitals, continuing care retirement communities, ambulatory care and long-term care, among others.
To learn more about the upcoming event, visit the association’s website at www.ahe.org.
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