This month’s cover story focuses on rural facilities, but the themes explored apply to us all. Whether you work in an urban hospital, an academic medical center, a critical access hospital or other type of facility, your organization likely is changing as care delivery methods shift.

We all want to create convenient, modern facilities that meet the needs of today while providing flexibility for additional changes in the future. But we can’t do it alone. We need information and support to understand best practices in the field and make decisions that will best serve our organizations.

So, where do you turn for important guidance? You do not need to have all the answers — or even all the questions — but it is important to have a support system in place so that you have a place to turn when facing a challenge. For nearly 13,000 professionals, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) is the trusted source of information for those responsible for planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining health care facilities.

We are quickly approaching the 55th Annual ASHE Conference & Technical Exhibition, which will be held July 15-18 in Seattle.

For 55 years, health facilities professionals have been gathering to learn from each other, explore best practices and develop their networks. The conference is a great place to grow your support system. I encourage you to take part in key sessions, meet new contacts and explore the trade show floor to find new solutions. The next time a challenge arises, you will have more people to turn to for answers.

Of course, ASHE offers a wide variety of resources beyond conferences — including monographs, On Demand recordings, e-learning programs, in-person education programs, publications, the My ASHE members-only site and more.

If you are already an ASHE member, make time today to visit the website and explore these resources. If you are not yet a member, learn how you can join thousands of professionals dedicated to optimizing the health care physical environment.

Bradley R. Taylor, MBA, CHFM, ASHE President