Big Easy's EVS Expertise: An Exchange26 Recap

Key Takeaways:
• EVS Week highlights the critical role of environmental services professionals in maintaining safe and healthy healthcare environments.
• EVS teams continue to navigate infection prevention, patient perception, and operational challenges.
• The AHE Exchange26 conference offers insights on present and future trends facing EVS operations.

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By Taylor Vraney, Assistant Editor

September is a season of events—back-to-school, fall fun, and environmental services (EVS) appreciation. This week marks EVS Week, a time to recognize the important role EVS professionals play in promoting public health. EVS teams consistently compete with infection prevention, patient perceptions, and operational challenges daily. However, they remain resilient in maintaining safe and healthy healthcare environments.

The efforts of these unsung heroes were further elucidated by the Association for the Health Care Environment's (AHE) recent event. For the first time, CleanLink was able to attend the education and solution summit in the "Big Easy." Assistant Editor Taylor Vraney travelled to New Orleans in August to listen, learn, and look to the future of EVS operations.

Taylor Vraney is the Assistant Editor working on Contracting Profits, Facility Cleaning Decisions, and Sanitary Maintenance magazines. She's also very active in contributing to CleanLink.com. Prior to her time in media, Taylor served as a Special Education teacher, which gives her a strong perspective on custodial operations and its role in creating healthy environments for building occupants.
Taylor currently oversees Sanitary Maintenance's Sales Leaders Award program, which gave her a quick introduction to some of the many outstanding personalities that make up this great industry.
Taylor handles the collection of content for the Cleaning Insider newsletter and facilitates CleanLink's monthly polling questions.

Follow Taylor on LinkedIn here.

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posted on 9/16/2026