Healthcare Education for Facility Managers & their teams at no charge – CEU Credits from ASHE

This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services

As we begin the new school year and universities, high schools and grammar schools across the US are full of students beginning their classes, I am reminded about what we don’t think about enough –  our own education and career advancement.

The healthcare industry is going through enormous change and we, in the infrastructure or physical environment side of the business, are highly aware of the implications.  A statistic I recently learned while listening to Phil Stephens, MHA, CHFM, FASHE and President Elect of ASHE, speak at the North Carolina Health Care Engineering conference is that the average age of a facility director is 54 years old.   One of Phil’s missions and that of ASHE’s current President, Mark Kenneday, MBA, CHFM, FASHE,   is succession planning.   The implications?  We will be retiring in the next 10 years.  Who will run these highly complex healthcare facilities?

Well, first of all, we need to look towards our existing teams in the healthcare facilities.  How can we help them?  What can we do to improve their base of knowledge?  What can we do to get those teams matriculated through the organizations and stay in the industry?  What are you personally doing to improve your own career?

We need to invest, and we need to do it as an industry.

ASHE and Schneider Electric have teamed up and created a series of classes that can be taken on line, 24/7, called ‘Learning Paths.’  ASHE Learning Paths for Credit,  Schneider Electric has provided the content, ASHE has reviewed the classes and their education committee selected and provided education credit on those classes they felt were most relevant to the industry.

There are three different learning paths that students can take at no charge and receive CEU credits for:

1.  Energy Managers which focuses on energy procurement, financial analysis, measurement and verification plus more.

2. Facility Managers  which has courses on energy fundamentals, rate structures, energy audits, benchmarking, and types of energy (WAGES) water, air, gas, electricity and steam.

3. Facility Technicians which has building controls, steam systems, boilers, compressed air, fan systems, HVAC systems, pumping systems.   The nuts and bolts of the infrastructure.

Best of all, if you click on the link above, we will know that you are an ASHE member and when you register, each successful class that you take will be automatically registered with ASHE the following month!

Schneider Electric is, in many ways, in the same situation.  Some of our heritage brands, like our Square D business, have been around for over one hundred years.   We have generations of employees that have worked for the company.   We also have a work force that will be and have been retiring with the advent of the baby boomer generation.   We get it and we are trying to help! We hope our course offerings can help you too!