The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE), of the American Hospital Association, is looking to recognize exceptional leaders working within the healthcare facility.

The AHE awards and recognition program acknowledges and elevates professionals who have demonstrated the highest level of excellence and leadership. Award recipients are those who work towards advocating and educating themselves on best practices and standards, developing new leaders within a hospital or healthcare facility, and promoting the environmental services profession.

Applications for the following awards are due by June 17, 2016.

Phoenix Award- *Open to AHE members only
Started in 1987, the Phoenix Award is the highest honor bestowed upon an AHE member. The Phoenix Award recognizes a professional who has made an unselfish, lasting impact as well as outstanding contributions to the growth and professionalism of AHE, the membership, and to the professionalism AHE and environmental services.

Who should Apply/Be Nominated:
    •    members with board service
    •    members who have served on committees
    •    members who are dedicated leaders in environmental services
    •    bottom line, if the AHE staff doesn't know who you are, you probably shouldn't apply

Heart of Healthcare Award
Developed by the Association for the Healthcare Environment and Kimberly-Clark Professional, the Heart of Healthcare Award recognizes and honors outstanding frontline environmental services technicians making a contribution to support safety initiatives and reduction and prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs).

The program purpose is to elevate the critical role that frontline environmental services technicians play in the care of patients and the healthcare environment. Step up for someone you know is doing an outstanding job in environmental services by nominating him or her today.

Who should Apply/Be Nominated:
    •    people that go above and beyond
    •    people well known by everyone in the facility
    •    people with stories to be shared about how they take the extra step

Innovation Award 
The AHE Innovation Award has been developed and designed to recognize and increase awareness of Products, Processes, and Technology Advancements that empower individuals to improve measured outcomes in caring for the healthcare environment. AHE recognizes the importance of being inclusive in its efforts to recognize the “best and brightest” as we look to challenge the existing expectations of performance, behavior, engineering, and quality outcomes through innovation.

Innovations must be commercially available or otherwise already in the public domain as this award is intended to increase awareness of available solutions.

This application requires a nominal application fee of $300 at the time of application.

Who should Apply:
    •    companies with new products
    •    comapanies that benefit environmental services
    •    companies who would like to showcase their product at EXCHANGE

Environmental Services Department of the Year Award
The award recognizes and celebrates best practices in cleaning and caring for the environment. It was designed to highlight the outstanding achievements of a leading-edge environmental services team in maintaining high levels of performance in cleaning, disinfecting, infection prevention, environmental sustainability and stewardship, use of technology, patient satisfaction, education, and training in critical areas. Environmental services departments are key contributors to a hospital’s overall success when measuring patient satisfaction, timely patient flow, infection prevention, environmental stewardship and providing a clean, safe health care environment.

The Environmental Services Department of the Year Award provides national recognition for the significant contributions made by an environmental services department to the overall patient experience and achieving a health care organization's mission.

Who should Apply:
    •    departments who are constantly improving scores
    •    departments who stand above the rest
    •    departments who demonstrate high levels of performance, productivity and efficiency

James Wolfbrandt Award
A founding member of AHE, James Wolfbrandt was always available to mentor and lead his colleagues and would often seek out opportunities to help others learn from his successes and failures. Applicants to this award must follow in Mr. Wolfbrandrs footsteps and be actively involved in mentoring as well as educating and guiding colleagues, peers or staff members in the profession.

Who should Apply/Be Nominated:
    •    people who are mentors
    •    people who strive to help others become better
    •    people who exemplify leadership in environmental services

General Information
    •    Candidates may be nominated by an AHE member or non-member or may nominate themselves.
    •    The current AHE Recognition Committee will select award winners based on submitted nominations. The committee may request additional information if needed.
    •    All submissions become the property of AHE.

Instructions
    •    Please click the award name to download the PDF application.
    •    Scan all applications to ahe@aha.org
    •    Review the criteria for each award and submit the application for the award that best fits your own personal experience or for a person you feel best deserves that award.
    •    Award Applications must be submitted by the deadline of June 17, 2016. No Excpetions.
    •    Supporting materials may NOT be submitted unless requested.

We encourage you to nominate your peers, but don't hesitate to nominate yourselves as well. This is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate to the membership the stellar work you have been doing in your hospitals and in your communities. All awards will be presented at the 2016 EXCHANGE in Pittsburgh, PA.