Greetings,

I hope this message finds you and yours healthy and well. I want to start off by thanking you all for your interest, participation and support of the organization’s efforts to show our flexibility during these strange times. As you all are aware by now, we have converted our 2020 Annual Conference educational seminars into webinars from May through December; typically in the afternoon on the 3^rd Thursday of each month. I encourage you to join these events and participate in these valuable educational opportunities. Email notices and invitations will be provided ahead of each event. The Board of Directors also successfully hosted two COVID-19 focused round-table webinar sessions in April and May with healthcare and associate members participating on the panel. The audiences for both events were near 100 people and the engagement was terrific! Thank you!

The Board of Directors met via webinar on June 10^th and 11^th for our annual summer planning session where we discussed how we can continue to grow and better serve our membership body. One of our main topics of conversation was our need to solidify our leadership structure in all districts. The district leadership structure is an important part of the stability of the organization and provides a pipeline for statewide leadership. We have a very critical void with the District Chair position within the Hampton Roads district which we are hoping to fill with a healthcare member. The support structure for this role is in place and statewide Board of Director support is unwavering. If you have interest, please reach out to any board member for more information! Another topic of discussion was annual elections. Traditionally, we hold annual elections at the Spring conference. However, with the cancellation of this year’s conference we have been forced to pivot our approach to the elections. The BOD is working on the development of an online election platform which we hope to release later this summer following a call for nominations.

I hope that you’ll take the time to read through this newsletter to see the exciting things happening within VSHE!

Stay well,

Happy Summer!

My name is Mike Karcher, and I have agreed to fill the 2020 Advocacy position with VSHE for the upcoming year.  I am continuing the effort that Rick Sanders and Joe Auricchio have competently filled over the last couple of years and I will be providing the chapter with news from ASHE on codes, standards, and up-coming opportunities.  I have been a member of ASHE and VSHE since 2006 and previously I have served as the Hampton Roads District Program Chairperson from 2010 to 2015.  As a certified Healthcare Design Professional, I have an inherent interest in staying current with the changing design criteria and passing that information on to the chapter.

With the Covid-19 pandemic the distribution of knowledge and information has changed drastically this spring: Design Conferences, the ASHE PDC Conference, and our own Annual Conference have been cancelled and information is now being provided through webinars, Go-To-Meetings, and electronically.  ASHE has started a new newsletter, my ASHE, which is providing current information and 'lessons learned' from our fellow healthcare associates in dealing with the issues and problems with the coronavirus.  

I listened in to the Quarter 2 (Q2) ASHE Sustainability and Advocacy Liaison Webinar back on May 20th, and a link to a PDF of the presentation is provided at the bottom of this section.  The webinar addressed the proposed addenda to ASHRAE 170-2017 and talked about up-coming changes.  It also gave an update on the FGI Guidelines, the USP and the ICC Code review periods and appeals.    

The 2020 Annual NFPA Meeting was held virtually this past week (June 15 - 17), and while I joined in February (after talking with Dylan about this position) I have not been a member long enough to have voting privileges (6 months).   I will monitor the information coming out of this meeting, and coordinate with the national ASHE personnel to make sure that, in the future, I am aware of the pressing issues and provide that information to the chapter so that a concerted effort on future voting issues has the directions addressed for our chapter before the meeting.

VSHE had a webinar on Thursday, June 18^th on “Anatomy of a Building Envelope Failure” with Richard Perkins of Raymond talking about moisture infiltration/weatherproofing of the building envelope and the problems that ensue.  He discussed testing and common problems encountered with an existing outpatient facility and how these were corrected.
Future events/training:

• ASHE has rescheduled the 2020 Annual Conference in Chicago for October 4 – 7, both as an in-person and a virtual event
• The Q3 ASHE " Liaison Day" is scheduled for Oct. 29 - 30, and a poll will be taken to determine if it's in person or virtual. 
• The Q4 ASHE Sustainability and Advocacy liaison Meeting will be Dec. 9th. 
• VSHE will decide shortly on the Fall Safety Seminar whether to hold this in-person or virtually.
• The ASHE website has a multitude of educational events, from “Lunch + Learn” presentations to webinars and e-learning courses.  There are workshops and programs addressing a range of topics from commissioning to compliance with the multiple codes

Click Here to read about the Q2 Sustainability and Advocacy Liaison Webinar

Exciting Opportunity!

We at VSHE want to help your healthcare facility get set up with ASHE’s Energy to Care Dashboard.  There are tremendous benefits and it is easy to use, but we recognize that setting up the dashboard can seem like a task that will take time and resources that you don’t feel like you have to offer.  We want to help you get set up for FREE!

ASHE offers Energy to Care Dashboard Orientation Workshops.  VSHE is facilitating a 2-hour webinar with an ASHE expert at no cost to you or your organization. This would connect us with an expert to walk us through the following:


Learning Outcomes:

1. Access and sign into the Energy to Care Dashboard.
2. Understand the setup process for new users, buildings, and organizations.
3. List and describe user roles and responsibilities.
4. Locate dashboard resources including the how-to guide and tutorial videos.
5. Understand how utility data can be managed and shared between ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and the Energy to Care Dashboard.
6. Navigate through the dashboard’s home screen views and drop-down menu options.
7. Upload utility data into the dashboard.
8. Interpret and analyze utility performance data using the dashboard views, tools, and reports.
9. This will provide us with the most efficient and effective process for getting the dashboard set up for all our hospitals.  I am attaching a link to a doodle-poll with several date options for later this summer. 

 Click Here to link to the poll   Please respond no later than July 2.

 And as an added benefit – VSHE will cover the cost of a one-year ASHE membership for the first healthcare member to complete all three of the following:

•  Fill out the doodle-poll
• Participate in the webinar
• Complete the task of setting up the dashboard

 If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out.

 Best,

Sweet summertime! I don’t know about you, but it’s been encouraging to see people fishing, hiking, playing tennis, and cycling. As I sat and ‘people watched’ recently, I realized how quickly we take such things for granted. In the wake of COVID-19 and ‘sheltering in place’ my reflections brought me to a sincere appreciation of being able to exercise these simple, common, liberties. I also thought of how much I appreciate being a member of VSHE.

Jerry Baker
VSHE Membership Chair 2019-2020

Planning for the 2020 fall conference has begun!  This year’s fall conference will be a dual format conference with both in-person and virtual attendance options. 

 The in-person portion will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Richmond on October 29^th while the virtual portion is intended to make this year’s program accessible to our entire membership community.  

 2020 has been a year of change and this year’s theme will embrace change in the healthcare engineering world.  VSHE will issue a call for abstracts in the coming months so please begin to think about how you can share your expertise with VSHE members.  

 In the meantime, be sure to tune in this summer for our educational webinar series highlighting many of the programs that were originally scheduled for the 2020 Spring Conference.  We certainly missed seeing everybody in the spring due to the cancellation of our 2020 annual conference but we hope you are all staying well. 

We hope that everyone is doing well and staying as productive as can be expected during a pandemic.

For the time being all in-person meetings are on hold. VSHE will continue to have virtual educational offerings and hopefully we will be able to get back to local social meetings and educational offerings soon.

Until then, please stay safe and if there is anything that we can assist with, please contact us.

Blue Ridge – Philip Prescott: LinkedIn
Central District - Scott Schwegal: Scott.Schwegal@hcahealthcare.com
Hampton Roads – Kyle Bond on behalf of VSHE BOD

Help Wanted in Hampton Roads

We are looking for someone who is passionate about the Healthcare Industry and who wants to help grow VSHE!
This volunteer position will work closely with VSHE's Board to develop the Hampton Roads district.
DM us on social media and let us know if you would be interested in serving this great healthcare district!