By Dan Hounsell

Among the many challenges facing healthcare facilities managers — beyond maintenance, compliance, safety, security, design, infection control, and personnel management, to name just a few of managers’ many responsibilities — is that there is no book on how to be a successful manager. Or is there?

Successful healthcare facilities managers wear many hats and have a direct effect on patient welfare, and the construction, maintenance and daily operations of healthcare facilities are heavily regulated by numerous, wide-ranging authorities. Beyond that, managers must respond to high-impact needs that are constantly and rapidly evolving, and the facility must provide continuous patient care.

Now a new handbook from the American Society for Health Care Engineering, “Introduction to Health Care Facilities Management,” discusses the primary skills and concepts a manager should use and understand, and it offers a detailed look at various types of healthcare facilities, a typical hospital’s structure and the business of healthcare.