Diploma in Healthcare Environmental Services Management Centennial College - Morningside Campus, Canada

Centennial College's Healthcare Environmental Services Management (HESM) program was designed to meet the demand for qualified environmental services managers with the ability to develop systems and processes to protect workers, clients and patients from environmental hazards in the health care setting and operate buildings that are safe.

Today's health care environment is changing, and there's an increased need for infection control measures, outbreak or pandemic planning, isolation cleaning levels, emergency preparedness and timely response in the health care setting. In this college health diploma program's courses, you'll learn to develop, implement, and monitor operating systems and preventative maintenance in the housekeeping, laundry, maintenance and transportation areas within the environmental department of a health care facility. You'll also learn about the emergence of new technologies to fight antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" and to help support disease control of bacteria and viruses.

The curriculum will include concepts of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as well as going "green" for a healthier environment and to reduce pollution and the carbon footprint. You'll also research the use of effective eco-friendly products with lower volatile organic compounds.

To help you acquire the necessary skills, the HESM program will also expose you to the industry's best practices and continuous quality improvements to coordinate and monitor building, sanitation, maintenance and operating systems. You'll also be informed of the wide range of environmental issues health care facilities encounter as they work to comply with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Health Canada, Occupational Health and Safety, Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) and other regulatory requirements. As part of Public Health Ontario, the PIDAC has created best practice documents, reports and recommendations on matters related to communicable diseases, immunization, and infection prevention and control and surveillance. Centennial's HESM program is recognized as a recommended program that managers and supervisors in environmental service departments can attend when directly related to environmental cleaning in health care.

Through this offering, you'll combine health care environmental service knowledge with business and human relations, critical thinking and problem solving skills. This combination will prepare you to work with a diverse team in this challenging field.

As a Centennial College HESM student and graduate, you may be eligible to apply for Ontario Healthcare Housekeepers' Association and Canadian Association of Environmental Management memberships. Both are recommended for employment opportunities.

Program Highlights

• The Healthcare Environmental Services Management program will incorporate classroom lectures, hands-on practical lab experience, field trips and guest speaker presentations.
• Experiential learning and practical skill development will occur on campus in designated lab areas and in computer labs with industry-specific software.
• Included in this School of Community and Health Studies program will be two field placements in semester 3 and 4.
• The diploma you'll earn reflects high standards of learning and transferable skills.

As a Healthcare Environmental Services Management graduate, you'll be able to reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• Support the provision of a healthy, safe and sanitary health care environment according to guidelines set by current legislation, standards and regulations;
• Analyze infection prevention and control practices to ensure compliance with current legislation standards and regulations;
• Effectively work as part of an interprofessional health care team to ensure successful functioning of the facility;
• Apply quality management principles in compliance with requirements established by the organization and regulatory bodies;
• Manage the health care environmental services operations as outlined by the departmental/organizational business plan;
• Develop ongoing personal and professional development strategies and plans to achieve realistic career goals and to enhance management skills;
• Analyze and evaluate the impact of social, ethical and legal issues on individual and/or organizational operations within a health care environmental services context;
• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of recruitment, orientation, training, development and retention programs for health care environmental services employees;
• Develop and evaluate a departmental budget that reflects fiscal accountability and financial planning;
• Apply effective human resource management practices to enhance organizational and individual productivity and performance;
• Document, generate and maintain all required records in compliance with current healthcare environmental services regulations, standards and established protocol.