CHICAGO, Ill —Health Forum’s Health Facilities Management magazine and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) have launched the fourth annual Environmental Services (ES) Department of the Year Award, sponsored by Cintas Corporation.

This annual program is designed to recognize the outstanding achievements of a leading-edge hospital ES/housekeeping teams in maintaining the highest levels of performance in critical areas.

A finalist and honorable mention recognition may also be issued depending on final scores. The winning Environmental Services Department of the Year will be profiled in Health Facilities Management and recognized at the ASHES Annual Conference, September 26-30 in Nashville, Tenn.

“Environmental services/housekeeping departments are on the front satisfaction, infection prevention and safety. Nationally recognizing the contributions made by ES departments makes a strong statement to the important and critical role the ES staff plays during a patient’s visit to a hospital,” said Patti Costello, ASHES executive director.

Hospitals seeking to enter the Environmental Services Department of the Year Award contest should visit www.hfmmagazine.com to access the competition rules, criteria and entry form. Entrants will be required to provide demographic information on their department and hospital in addition to offering details about their performance in 13 critical areas. Finalists will be required to produce necessary documents to validate their entry. All submitted data will be kept confidential. The deadline for completed entries is June 4, 2010.