IFHE NEWS Latin American activity discussed in Toronto
During the 27th IFHE Congress in Toronto last September 2022 (HEJ, November 2022), the IFHE Latin America Regional Group held its 7th Meeting, writes Brazilian architect, Fábio Bitencourt, a member of IFHE’s Executive Committee, and director of International Relations at Brazil’s ABDEH (Associação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento do Edifício Hospitalar). He explains: “One of the priorities was to update the Latin American IFHE associations and their respective members on the proposals and decisions discussed throughout 2022.” The Meeting also saw attendees consolidate the proposals and strategies for the Latin American Continuously Functioning Thematic Network of representatives from healthcare engineering and healthcare architecture from across Latin America – which is drawn both from IFHE organisations in the region, and other bodies sharing common interests in this field, (HEJ, November 2021). Fábio Bitencourt continued: “At this and its other meetings, the Latin American Regional Group will discuss and evaluate the Thematic Network’s activities, and seek to ensure that the level of participation of the members across the region is sufficient to make the various initiatives truly effective.” There was a consensus that reducing the number of groups participating in the Network’s work is an extremely positive way to increase participation, and enable the resulting benefits to be shared among all members and their associations. It was thus proposed to maintain the following groups: n Congresses and seminars. n Teaching and education. n Publications. n Research.
Fábio Bitencourt said: “The reduction in the number of groups – implemented to maximise cost-effectiveness – does not exclude the activities the others have been developing, but rather recommends their inclusion in a purposeful way in the Thematic Network’s wider activities. The work of the four groups should now be able to encompass all the Network’s proposed areas of activity, traversed by thematic axes. Sustainability, for example, can be presented in a transversal and complementary way.” Another important topic discussed
was the IFHE Latin America Regional Group’s website. It was agreed that
18 Health Estate Journal February 2023
the Group should have its own page on the main IFHE website – with the content and format following the same model the IFHE European Group uses to disseminate news of its activities, professional experience, new technologies, and hospital building projects. A preliminary format for evaluation and future discussion is already in hand. “The Latin American community is also
Have you read the latest Digest?
“I hope you have all had the opportunity to read the latest edition of the IFHE Digest,” writes the publication’s Commissioning Editor, Andy Wavell. “Once again, we have been supported by many members of the international community, resulting in 22 articles being available in the digital version. The link, for those who have not seen it yet, is:
https://tinyurl.com/zh37k6z4 “The circulation list each year is based on the details held by the IFHE Secretariat in Portsmouth, and historically this also details whether member organisations would like to receive some hard copies for distribution among their members. By using the link above every member of the IFHE family could have the opportunity to gain useful knowledge from the varied input. I am hearing more and more that the electronic version is sufficient for many national organisations. It would be helpful if your preferences could be made known to me so that we do not print excess copies of the Digest. I can be contacted
keen to explore the possibility – starting in 2023 – of a Latin American Award for Hospital Infrastructure,” explained Fábio Bitencourt. “The Congress to be held in Mexico City in November 2023 may see the first iteration. Finally,” he added, “those attending the meeting heard that a matter of common interest for all Latin American associations is the need to formally establish a Collaboration Agreement between them.”
at
grandyandy68@gmail.com “Work on the 2024 edition will begin soon, and I would be grateful if you could canvas your members for interesting articles that could be included. Finally, thanks must go to the Editor, Matt Seex, for translating your synopses into meaningful articles.”
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