Healthcare Facilities Network

Live from TAHFM 2026: Facility Leaders & Conference Highlights

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Live from TAHFM 2026, Healthcare Facilities Network brings you a first-of-its-kind conference coverage episode captured on-site in Allen, Texas. From the opening night concert to casino night and everything in between, our cameras were rolling to highlight the energy, insights, and conversations shaping healthcare facilities management.

This episode features perspectives from healthcare facility leaders, vendor partners, and industry professionals across the conference floor. TAHFM President Taylor Vaughn joins us for a sit-down interview to discuss the importance of collaboration, education, and community within healthcare facilities management. We also connected with vendor-side leaders to explore how innovation, operational support, and technology continue to impact facilities teams across healthcare organizations.

Beyond the formal sessions, this episode captures the value of in-person industry events — building relationships, sharing best practices, and learning directly from peers facing similar challenges. From leadership insights to vendor perspectives, the conversations highlight the evolving priorities of healthcare facilities management and the role conferences like TAHFM play in advancing the profession.

This special conference recap delivers a behind-the-scenes look at TAHFM 2026 and showcases the voices helping shape the future of healthcare facilities management.

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👥 Connect with Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-martin-6284363b/

Today's Guests:
👥 Connect with Skanda Skandaverl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skanda-v-skandaverl-a8665b14/
👥 Connect with Shay Rankhorn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayrankhorn/
👥 Connect with James Krochune: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameskrochune/
👥 Connect with David Trask: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidtrask/
👥 Connect with Joe Stockman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcstockman/
👥 Connect with Taylor Vaughn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-vaughn-chfm-sashe-ba1443147/
👥 Connect with John Wilson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-wilson-aia-chfm-sashe-0318ab85/

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Taking The Conference On Camera

Making AI Practical For Busy Teams

SPEAKER_07

There's a major crisis facing healthcare facilities management. We have aging employees, aging buildings, and aging infrastructure. We've created the Healthcare Facilities Network, a content network designed specifically to help solve for these three pressing issues in healthcare facilities management. We bring on thought leaders and experts from across healthcare facilities management, all the way from the C-suite to the technician level. Because at the end of the day, we're all invested in solving the aging issue. Thanks for tuning in. Look at our videos. You will find that is a theme across our content. This is the Healthcare Facilities Network. I'm your host, Peter Martin. Hello, Peter Martin, Healthcare Facilities Network coming to you live from the Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Managers. So we're gonna be trying something a little bit different here at Taflam. We're gonna have interviews with folks, but trying a new concept. Kind of to bring the conference to you in a way we haven't done it before. So you can see see what's going on. Some of the nightlife, some of the events, some of the filming. We have the concept in our head. How it comes out? Well we'll see. But uh it's gonna be a busy week. I hope you enjoy this video. I hope you enjoy this coverage. If you have ideas for how we can improve, maybe do something a little differently. We're all here, so please send us your feedback. So for now, and for this empty exhibit hall, I'm gonna sign off. Thanks. Hope you keep watching. For you who may be watching this saying, AI, I don't have time, I don't want to learn it, I thought one of the strengths of Shay's presentation was you kind of made it practical. Like if you are that person who's watching this saying, I can't learn it, I don't have time to learn it. Well, Shay's presentation took you to that square and and I'd like you to get started, I'd like to talk about that, but first, you know, Shay's talked about Charlie, so I thought of the way you started your presentation, um probably one minute in, there was you know, Shay's talking, and then there came a voice, and and I I happen to be sitting, and so I'm pointing over kind of towards where the uh the um speaker, the audio visual, the A V people were. And so Shay stops talking, and all of a sudden there's this voice.

SPEAKER_02

I've got Charlie here is my partner today on the presentation. Charlie, are you there? I'm right here. Alright, can you give a quick introduction to let everyone know how you'll be helping us on the presentation today? You got it. Throughout the session, I'll jump in to show how AI can transform some of the daily tasks we're talking about, whether it's summarizing, drafting, or planning. I'll keep it quick and practical so you can see exactly how this applies to your college.

SPEAKER_07

So Jim is a great guy in the healthcare facilities management space. Jim comes to all these conferences, and you know, we're trying something a little bit different doing people in the street interviews. So, Jim, let me ask you first thing, how's the TAFM conference been for you?

SPEAKER_05

It's been great, very well attended, and lots of great conversations and great um seminars to be part of.

SPEAKER_07

So, Jim goes to lots of hospitals across the United States. He sees a lot. Jim, you told me a story once about one of your client hospitals that you walked into. Can you tell our audience? Awesome.

SPEAKER_05

So I've been working with the same hospital for 10 years, and we they gave us a steam trap survey that a previous vendor had done, and it had 210 traps. And this year we were able to identify over 500 traps after 10 years of working with them, so they just identifying more and more areas that are buried in ceilings and behind walls, and being able to identify where those energy savings are for them.

SPEAKER_07

How does the lack of employees impact you? Because that's the true magic of this story.

SPEAKER_05

So uh what we found is that you know anybody who knows anything about steam is either dying or retiring, and that's why hospitals are having a hard time hiring people that actually understand steam as well as we do, and I think that's really where we've been able to find a really good niche and help hospitals save significant energy.

SPEAKER_07

When we talk about the lack of employees coming into healthcare facilities management, we don't always think of uh steam tracks. You usually think of the big picture director of FM, but you're finding it even down into the trades and into the folks who make these hospitals go on a daily basis, it's impacting?

SPEAKER_05

Yes, less there are less people getting into the trades of the hospitals and less people getting into trades in general. And what I found is that the lack of knowledge and the understanding of actually the built infrastructure for the hospital, that's really where we can come in and help.

SPEAKER_07

So TAFM, Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management from the Floor with my friend David Trask, who travels the world, but now he's here in person. David, hello.

SPEAKER_04

Hey, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_07

How uh how's the conference been for you?

SPEAKER_04

Great. I mean, a lot of good activity, a lot of business activity, a lot of great functions. I think at the end of the day, everybody's really working on each other, except here.

SPEAKER_07

So David is uh he's got a great eye for the industry. You might see him when he travels in airplanes to Hawaii, but tell us, David, what are you seeing for like a trend over the past year or so?

SPEAKER_04

I think at the end of the day, we're gonna be trying to figure out in a payout, where does that fit in a world? Facilities all over the board because different different levels that people are embracing that type of new technologies, um, but that's the the hot topic. But also, uh, energy. That's the other thing that I'm hearing a lot is people are trying to figure out how they can save money. Energy uh working on the processing sensor technology, that's another thing I'm so AI and energy.

SPEAKER_07

Let me ask you a question. How far ahead or behind is healthcare?

SPEAKER_04

I think it's much further ahead than other industries. I think debt steel line would probably be higherless. Um, but at the end of the day, just I think they're lighter as if they've already spoken utilizing uh sensitive technologies and other things to really figure out how they can save money and also leverage information to better manage their building.

SPEAKER_07

So that answer is why I love to have David Trask on the full episodes, but since we're here on the floor, we're gonna cut it short. David, thank you so much for your time.

CMMS Data And Remote Access

SPEAKER_04

My pleasure, thank you.

SPEAKER_07

So, Peter Martin here on the TAFM floor with my friend Joe Stockman from FSI. Joe, how has the conference been so far?

SPEAKER_03

Oh, the conference has been great. Uh, we've had the you know existing customers uh stop by. Uh we have a lot of customer, a huge customer base here in Texas. Uh so it's great to see uh people I've seen for years. I also talked to some Casebecta Blue lines as well.

SPEAKER_07

So when I think of Joe and FSI, I think data. Joe, a big uh one of the big themes here has been data. Talk to us about data, especially the importance of data with CMMSs.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, FSI was founded on data. Well, we didn't actually start as a software company, we started as a data gathering company, uh, populating a multitude of CMMSs, and we just um, you know, through working with them, we decided that we wanted to build our own and build it better and build it easier, uh, and that's what we did. We built it with our uh floor plan-based model here, which I'm showing here with our CMS view product. And also we're totally healthcare, so we focused on bar compliance reporting, where we have our uh built-in uh reporting compliance module, ties everything to joint commission, DNV, any other authorities having jurisdiction they solve. Um and the data just uh fills in the report. You close work orders, it fills in the report. So it's all about getting good data.

SPEAKER_07

So Joe is a Pittsburgh guy, even though he's lost his accent because he lives in Florida now. Joe, you've been in the industry for 20 plus years. What is one of the biggest changes you have seen from when you entered to now?

SPEAKER_03

Uh the biggest change I've actually 30 years, just past the 30 year mark in the CMMS.

SPEAKER_07

Trying to make you younger.

SPEAKER_03

Uh yeah, no. It started when Windows was just coming out. So uh the biggest change I've seen is is everything being online and and at your fingertips and being remote. You don't have to be in the hospital to get to your data. You can get to it from anywhere. So that's that's one of the more exciting changes that's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_07

And actually, if you follow Joe on LinkedIn, you see that he travels quite a bit. So what he says is what he does. Joe, thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Thanks, Peter.

SPEAKER_07

Hello, and welcome to the Healthcare Facilities Network. I am your host, Peter Martin, joined by my very special guest this morning, Taylor Bond, president of TAFO.

SPEAKER_00

TAF what does TAFM stand for? The Texas Association of Healthcare Facilities Management. So it's the Texas chapter of Ashley.

SPEAKER_07

We are at Wednesday. How is the conference going for you?

SPEAKER_00

It's been so great. Um I'm so exhausted, but it has been awesome. I haven't heard final numbers yet, but every year we look at a little bit better and a little bit better attendance. So I'm hoping we're around 900. Um it's a lot. And it's just been three and a half days, almost four days, of just non-stop education, networking, and try to throw in some fun stuff, and we had so much food. So I hope people, I hope people enjoyed it. We really we really tried to make it special for y'all and make sure you have a good time. How did you kick off the concert?

SPEAKER_07

Um how'd you how'd you kick off Sunday night?

SPEAKER_00

It was a concert. So uh we start Sunday night with the president's reception, and this year uh John Wilson is was the past Regent 7, uh Ashley Regent 7 board member, and he's from Texas, and he approached me and said, Hey, I have a band, and we've been together since college. They're called Excalibur. And he was like, I would love to play on Sunday night if you'll have me. And I was like, That is amazing. And so him and his band of like seven guys played all these old songs, the Eagles and Chicago, the big girls. Old to me, and um to me, they were so good, and you the whole band was up there just smiling the whole time, and it was awesome. So such a great way to kick off the conference.

SPEAKER_06

Um, last night. Tell folks about last night.

Scholarships And Access For Attendees

SPEAKER_00

So uh the last night of the the conference, we always have casino night, and it was packed. We had a DJ, um, tons of poker table, blackjack, craps, roulette. Uh we had giant beer pong with like people-sized cups. We had darts, we had giant jenga, we had cornhole, we had food, desserts, drinks, obviously. Um I think I said DJ, everybody was dancing. Um it was it was so fun, and it was the place to be. We gave out awesome prizes for people who are good at poker, which is not me, but really really fun night.

SPEAKER_06

What are some of the challenges of getting people to the conference? How do you attract them to the conference? And how do you get people like people have so many demands these days? You have a demand, you're a manager. Definitely. How do you get on people's calendars? How do you make it a priority for us?

SPEAKER_00

Definitely. Um, well, I mean, we schedule it way out ahead, we have a lot of sponsorships or scholarships that we can give to people so many scholarships. If your hospital won't pay for you to come, um, you know, we will help you try to get here. But Texas is such a large state. So we try to move around every city every year. So last year we were in Austin, this year we were near Dallas, next year we'll be at Houston. So we try to move around so you don't always have to travel, and maybe if the the conference is in your city, you can send more of your technicians. Um, but that's a couple ways, and like I said, if you if you need to fly here, you'll let us know, we'll help you pay for it. We want to get you here any way we can. So we really try to make it as accessible as we can um for every corner of Texas. Do you guys do scholarships? We do. We have several different scholarships, um, all geared around education. They're all on our website, and we just opened up a new scholarship honoring Ruben Garcia, um, who is very passionate about education. So if you're thinking about taking your CHM or studying for it, let us know and we'll help you, just like Lubin would have wanted. We he wanted people to get their CHM. He wanted people to have education, so we're trying to honor his legacy in that way.

SPEAKER_07

How difficult is it, Taylor, to um and I know you have a group who supports it, so all of you working together, but to come up with education that is impactful and and relevant to what folks are going through.

SPEAKER_00

So one of the ways is we have uh an app uh for the conference where people can leave us comments. So, like last year, we got a lot of comments saying, I want more AI, I want more AI. So um we were able to bring in Shay Ray Korn, who did an awesome presentation on just really AI basics. Um, but we also opened it up for abstract submissions, and we got over a hundred submissions for abstracts for the conference from you know facilities managers and industry partners from around the state. So um the conference planning committee sits down in person in January and we go through every single one of these and we say, okay, this would be good for the conference, let's let's get it down. Um, some of them we may we may say for later, some of them we may say, hey, you want to come back and do a webinar? Um, but that's one of the ways is uh people submit abstracts and they come and they present and they volunteer their time.

SPEAKER_07

And and I would have to say, so this is my second year coming to TAFM as an Austin last year. You guys, I mean, it does have the like the big conference feel. Yeah, like you it's it's it does. It doesn't have as many people as Ashley, but it feels like you're going to the annual.

Leadership Commitment And Visibility

SPEAKER_00

It's the exact same structure as Ashie. So we start Sunday, um, two full days, Monday, Tuesday, and then half day, Wednesday. Um, we have general sessions, we have I think eight different times of breakout sessions where you have four different options. Uh obviously the a huge exhibit hall. We had, I think, 80 or 85 vendors this year with booths. Um every year I get angry emails from vendors saying I didn't get a booth, which I totally understand. The booths sell out in like 20 minutes. Um if you're trying to get a booth next year, you know, we we post the time that it's gonna be open either at your computer, ready to go, and have a couple people waiting to get in. That's the best way to do it. But uh yeah, it's it's the same structure as Ashy, and we're really lucky in that regard because we have so many people who submit abstracts to make that happen, and we have so many sponsors um to help us fund this conference. So we're very lucky in that aspect.

SPEAKER_07

One final question. You guys here in Texas are a little bit different the way you may as in many ways, right? I didn't even mean it that way, but um but you're also different in that as a president you do a two-year term. Most of the chapters are wrong. I don't know how many others do two-year terms. I know of many.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not sure. So it's actually it's a two-year term, but it's really a six-year term. So um I was president-elect for two years, and I am I'll be president for two years, and then I'll be past president for two years. So it's a very long commitment, but the the good part is that those three those three positions work together as a team. So it's not as much a burden on one person. So I can lean on those other two people, which is Jacob McCall and Del Abarrios right now, and say, hey, here's the problem I'm having. You know, what do y'all think? What should what should we do? Um and if I can't main something, they're there to back me up, or vice versa. And that just makes it so much easier. So it is a long commitment, but it's so worth it.

SPEAKER_06

But is there anything that has surprised you as president now that you didn't expect or weren't anticipating?

SPEAKER_00

Um, just the the you know, trying, I'm trying to be everywhere. I'm trying to be really visible at the conference. You have been. Um thank you. And it's hard because I'm I'm just one person, but I really did make an effort to go to all the sessions I could. I tried to make it all to all the vendor booths, and that did not happen. But um that is that is a lot. And I was telling somebody this morning, I was like, I'm very tired, but it's only four days. I mean, you can be tired for four days, so it's okay. Um, but yeah, just just trying to be visible is is a challenge, but it's it's okay. It's it's worth it.

SPEAKER_06

Nice. Well, you've done a great job. The team has done a great job. Are you back to work tomorrow or are you taking any time?

SPEAKER_00

I did take the rest of the week off. I'm gonna go home and and sleep below.

SPEAKER_07

Well, Taylor Vaughn, president of TAFM, thank you for joining us as well.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks, thank you.

SPEAKER_07

If you want to be a guest on a future episode of the Healthcare Facilities Network, go to Healthcare Facilities Network.com and let us know who you are and what you want to talk about. Because together, we can solve this critical aging issue.