FRISCO, Texas — Texas Health Hospital Frisco’s Environmental Services is a recipient of the Department of the Year award from the Association for Health Care Environment (AHE). The national honor recognizes high-level work maintaining a hospital’s safety and cleanliness and its continued commitment to customer satisfaction.

Texas Health Frisco’s award is in the category of hospitals with less than 250 beds.

“This is a great honor,” said Jim Henry, CHESP, MT-CHEST, T-CSCT, director of Environmental Services at Texas Health Frisco. “Our EVS team is part of a larger healthcare team working to help saves lives every day. We strive to keep the hospital safe for patients and the healthcare professionals who deliver care.”

The award highlights outstanding achievements contributing to overall patient experience, including excellence in cleaning, infection prevention, environmental sustainability and stewardship, technology use, patient satisfaction, education, and training in critical areas.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff remained dedicated to keeping a safe environment for healthcare professionals and patients.

“This award acknowledges the outstanding work the EVS department is doing,” said Brett Lee, president of Texas Health Frisco. “The EVS department not only works to maximize our capacity but also makes personal connections with our patients and staff.”

The EVS team continually works to reduce turnaround times for patient room preparation, increase cleanliness scores and implement recycling programs. EVS also adds special touches that build customer satisfaction, including through a campaign called W.O.W., an acronym for “Warm welcome. Out of this world experience. What can be done better?”

As part of the campaign, EVS staff bring flowers to every patient once a week — about 72 vases total per week.

“I’m very proud of our team for building special relationships with the guests while maintaining a clean and safe environment,” Henry said.