Partners in Prevention: Elevating EVS Roles in Infection Control at Exchange 2025

The critical role environmental services (EVS) teams play in breaking the chain of infection, protecting patients and health care workers, is well known but not highlighted enough. Drawing on real-world examples and a passion for collaboration, a presentation at the Exchange 2025: Association for Health Care Environment (AHE) Education & Solution Summit aims to empower EVS staff with the knowledge, confidence, and recognition they deserve.

This presentation by Shannon Simmons, DHSc, MPH, AL-CIP, CIC, MLS (ASCP), program manager of ambulatory infection prevention at CHRISTUS Health in Irving, Texas, and member of Infection Control Today^®’s (ICT^®’s) editorial advisory board, will spotlight the vital, yet often underrecognized, role EVS professionals play in breaking the chain of infection. Exchange25 will be held from June 8 to 11, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio.

Her presentation, titled “Partners in Prevention: Infection Prevention Is Everyone’s Business,” aims to reframe the conversation around environmental services (EVS) as an integral force in stopping health care-associated infections (HAIs) and protecting health care workers from occupational exposure. “We always think about clinicians, but we forget how vital just cleaning and disinfection is,” Simmons said in an interview with ICT. “This presentation really focuses on what EVS professionals can do to break the chain of infection and how they can protect themselves.”

Simmons highlights the resurgence of infectious diseases, such as measles, which were once considered eradicated, as a timely reminder of the need for education and vigilance across all staff levels. Her message is clear: EVS professionals need to be trained not only on how to clean, but also on why specific infection prevention protocols are essential. “Measles, which had been eradicated for years, is popping back up, and now it's a hot topic,” Simmons explained. “I'm here in Texas, and it's big here, so just making sure that we're all on the same page, we are partners in perfection and prevention.”

Simmons said in the interview that her focus is “on the partnership that EVS plays in breaking the chain of infection. We all know there are certain elements of how infections produce or [spread]. And if we can work together at these different points to stop the chain of infection, then we stop these [HAIs] from happening and from these different pathogens reemerging in public health. It's all one big system, and we're all working together, and we forget how our allied health professionals play a role in this, too.”

Another key theme in her talk is equity, both in responsibility and resources. Simmons acknowledges that many EVS departments are eager to do the right thing but are hindered by insufficient staffing or a lack of access to training. “We’re asking people to prevent infections without giving them the tools to do it properly,” she says, emphasizing the need for hospital leadership to prioritize EVS education and funding as part of broader infection control strategies.

Simmons is especially excited for her first time attending and presenting at Exchange25. “I'm so excited about this conference, and I'm excited about presenting and receiving feedback, answering questions, being able to interact and better understand how, as an infection preventionist, I can better serve this area that I think so highly of. [However,] I'm always unsure if the message is being received, and how best can I do that? So, I'm excited about collaborating at this conference.”

Her call to action is to recognize, respect, and empower the EVS workforce as full partners in the mission of infection prevention.