Facilities management employees set national record through training

Eighty-one staff members in the Facilities Management Department at Washington University School of Medicine recently earned the title of Facility Management Professional (FMP) from the International Facility Management Association. The department set a national record by having so many employees earn this title in less than four months. Professionals who become FMPs complete a series of comprehensive exams covering four areas: operations and maintenance, project management, finance and business, and leadership and strategy.

Melissa Hopkins, assistant vice chancellor and assistant dean of facilities management, believes that departmental sustainability expands beyond the physical environment and includes three critical realms: staff resource development, programs management and community engagement. Hopkins adds that the FMP training will strategically support her team and its partners’ internal strengths, values and dedication. These attributes support her department’s core values of professionalism, respect, integrity, dedication and excellence. “Creating a balanced program will enable us to create balanced leaders,” she said.

Hopkins also reached out to other departments at the School of Medicine, the Facilities Management Department on the university’s Danforth Campus, Saint Louis University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to encourage FMP training.