PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
A TURN TOWARD OPTIMISM “SPRING IS WHEN you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” This quote by Doug Larson speaks to the rejuvenation we all experience from a fresh start even though we may not be quite there yet. It holds true for our CHES family on at least two fronts. The obvious one is we’ve almost made it through winter. What’s more, we’ve managed another season of COVID-19, with this spring seeming more hopeful than previous ones due to advancements in both our understanding of the virus and the vaccines we didn’t have a year ago. One of the unexpected positive impacts of COVID is that it led to the expansion of CHES’s webinar series, in both the range of subject matter and the quality offered to our members. Preparing any webinar takes time but when done well, it contributes to a noteworthy library of sessions that many have taken advantage of through registration. Though I typically don’t provide a fiscal update as part of my quarterly message, I thought it useful to share with everyone that CHES remains financially sound. This isn’t to say we had a banner year in 2021, because we didn’t. But the conservative approach we undertook has served us well, ensuring CHES’s future ability to serve our members. Going forward, 2022 is slated to be somewhat of a coming out party for CHES. On both a national and provincial level, many of the activities that have been put on hold over the last two years are expected to resume. This includes, albeit with caution, chapter conferences. Similarly, planning arrangements for this year’s International Federation of Hospital Engineering (IFHE) Congress and CHES National Conference continue. For what it’s worth, based on January’s IFHE meeting that included more than 20 countries, the healthcare engineering world is looking forward and plans to attend the congress in Toronto this September. The American Society for Healthcare Engineering, the U.S. equivalent of CHES, is both an active planning participant and will have both speakers and delegates at the event. Our planning committee remains optimistic, as do our supportive vendors, that this is the conference we’ve all been awaiting. With that, I wish you all well. I’d also like to thank everyone on behalf of the patients and families that you impact. I’m really looking forward to seeing many of you in person in the coming months.
Roger Holliss CHES National president
EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS FROM CHES Members of the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society can earn free continuing education units (CEU) by reading the Spring 2022 issue of Canadian Healthcare Facilities and passing a quiz based on articles in the issue. Once you’ve read the issue from cover to cover, simply go online to www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z3FWTGG to take the quiz. CHES members who pass the quiz will be able to claim one contact hour (0.1 CEU) on their CanHCC or CCHFM certificate renewals.
8 CANADIAN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
