IFHE NEWS An update on Exco activities and new members


Over the past few months, reports the Federation’s Joint General Secretary, Andy Wavell, the IFHE Executive Committee has been focusing on COVID- 19, with the World Health Organization asking if IFHE could assist in supplying design teams to help provide COVID units in parts of the world that had difficulty in doing that.


He explained: “Rallying to the call, and following a training session led by the WHO, teams were organised to provide designs, and by the end of the 2020, 11 projects in seven countries had been designed with 19 teams of designers. Countries helped were Chad, Ethiopia, Brazil, Ghana, Haiti, Yemen, and Burkina Faso, providing up to 500 inpatient beds. All the design teams were gathered from IFHE Member organisations.”


Changes forced on Rome event Andy Wavell continued: “Exco has also been concerned at the changes forced upon SIAIS in Italy as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, to host the 50th Anniversary Congress, IFHE having held its inaugural meeting in Rome in 1970. Initially it was hoped to hold a face- to-face Congress in January, but you will have hopefully attended the rearranged ‘virtual’ Congress held from 24-28 January (HEJ – January 2021).


“Because of the coronavirus, and the rescheduling of the Rome Congress, Exco will recommend to Council that the planned interim meeting arranged for November 2021 in Mexico be rescheduled for 2023, as the committee was concerned that international travel may still be restricted, and there would be little to discuss.”


New Executive Committee members With the change of President at the rescheduled Congress, Daniela Pedrini confirmed the make-up of the Executive Committee to serve during her term in charge. Prior to Congress, the officers were confirmed as n President – Daniela Pedrini, Italy. n First Vice-President – Steve Rees, Canada.


n Second Vice-President – Kevin Poggenpoel, South Africa.


n Immediate Past-President – Darryl Pitcher, Australia.


n General Secretary – Gunnar Baekken, Norway.


n Joint General Secretary – Andy Wavell, UK.


n Hon Treasurer – Steve Drinkrow, South Africa.


Following Congress, the following have been confirmed to serve until the next


26 Health Estate Journal February 2021


Congress in the autumn of 2022 as General Members: n Mathias Schwabe, Germany. n Yoshihisa Hirayama, Japan. n Walt Vernon, US. n Fábio Bitencourt, Brazil. n Briseyda Marquez, Mexico.


About the new General Members Mathias Schwabe Mathias Schwabe is an engineer with a diploma in electrical engineering. As a sales manager at Bender, he has more than 20 years’ experience in the


field of electrical safety in healthcare worldwide. He has presented papers in more than 40 countries, and is in close contact with national committees worldwide. He is an active member of the DIN VDE committee, UK221.4, and sits on the international committee, MT40: IEC60364-7 Electrical installations of buildings – Part 7-710: requirements for special installations or locations – medical locations. As an exco member of WGKT, he represents Germany within IFHE.


Yoshihisa Hirayama Yoshihisa Hirayama has a PhD in mechanical


engineering from Cranfield University in the UK, and a BSc from Tufts University in the US. His areas


of interest include indoor climate and comfort. He is a member of the board of directors of the Healthcare Engineering Association of Japan (HEAJ). He is also a member of the organising committee for the Environmental and Equipment Design Award of the Association of Building Engineering and Equipment, Japan, and of the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan, and the Architectural Institute of Japan.


Walt Vernon Walt Vernon is the CEO of Mazzetti, an international programme management, strategic advisory services, consulting, and engineering


firm. He serves on, and is the former chair of, the NFPA99 Electrical Systems Technical Committee. He is the former


electrical engineer for the California Hospital Building Safety Board. He also served as one of the three co-ordinators of the Green Guide for Healthcare, The US's first green healthcare rating system. He co-authored the IEEE/ANSI White Book, the international standard for electrical systems in healthcare facilities. He co-chairs the ASHRAE 189.3 committee, and chairs the Research and Development Committee for the Facilities Guideline Institute (FGIS). He represents the US within the IFHE. He is a founding member of the Built Environment Network. In addition, he is a member of The Center for Health Design’s Research Coalition, served on the board of both Practice Greenhealth and Health Care without Harm, and wrote the section on hospitals for CALGreen. He also served as principal author for the World Health Organization’s Health in the Green Economy, as well as developing and leading AHA’s Sustainability Roadmap for Hospitals – A guide to achieving your sustainability goals.


Fábio Bitencourt Fábio Bitencourt gained a doctorate in sciences of


architecture (2007) and a Master’s in environmental comfort (2002). He was President of the


Brazilian Association for Development of the Hospital Building (ABDEH) from 2011- 2014, and Vice-President of technical and scientific development of the ABDEH from 2005 to 2008, and has been titular emeritus of the Brazilian Academy of Hospital Administration (ABAH) since 2012. He is also a professor on postgraduate courses in architecture, ergonomics, environmental comfort, and hospital administration, in Brazil. The author of various books, articles, and publications, on healthcare architecture, human comfort, healthcare design, hospital history, environments, and ergonomics, he the honorary partner of the Chilean Association of Architectural and Healthcare Facilities (AARKHOS).


Briseyda Marquez Briseyda Marquez graduated in Architecture, is a Certified Specialist in Planning and Design of Health Units, and has worked in the development and


coordination of executive projects for


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