IFHE NEWS
The IFHE Council assembled in Toronto.
the winner the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital owned and operated by Alberta Health Services in Canada. This award recognises excellence in a healthcare- related project built within the last few years, and is judged by international colleagues in the architecture, engineering, maintenance, and management fields of healthcare. “Steve Rees, the new IFHE President,
thanked Daniela Pedrini for her stewardship of the organisation through a very difficult period, and presented her with an Honorary Membership Certificate. He also presented me with an Honorary Membership Certificate as I retired from my role as the Federation’s Joint General Secretary, thanking me for my support for the organisation during the past six years. Although I have left Exco, I will continue to be the focal point for the IFHE Digest. “Before the Congress commenced, all delegates were welcomed to the President’s Reception, which was held in the ice hockey Hall of Fame – a building that holds many facts and figures relating to ice hockey.
Address from a First Nations elder “Congress opened with an address from First Nations elder and storyteller, Garry Sault, who welcomed attendees with a prayer and traditional native song. This was
followed by a dance performance from Canadian contemporary indigenous dance company, Red Sky Performance. Congress then heard from four-time Olympic gold medalist, female hockey legend, and physician-in-training, Hayley Wickenheiser, who gave an enthralling account of her life, both within ice hockey and subsequently. Having been involved with COVID from her medical standpoint, she was talking to professionals who had also been heavily involved, and it was interesting to hear her say that the hospitals could not have got through without the Estates personnel’s dedication.
A new ‘common language’ for healthcare planning “The rest of the first day was given over to technical papers. Leading the way with a plenary session were IHEEM CEO, Pete Sellars, and President, Paul Fenton, with a paper titled ‘A common language for planning and design of new hospitals’. (see pages 23-28 of this HEJ). Another interesting paper, ‘Ageing in the Arctic’, described how indigenous people could be kept in their home environment if the building provided for them also included elements of their way of life. There were also papers on ventilation, dealing with COVID, electrical safety systems, Authorising Engineers, architecture for hospitals in emergency situations,
planning for the future, and AI, and one titled ‘The Tool Guy – Interaction Between Man and Machine’. The day was rounded off with The President’s Reception and Gala Banquet – an opportunity to belatedly celebrate the IFHE’s 50th anniversary, and recognise former Presidents and others who in some way had been involved with the organisation for many years. It was also an opportunity for CHES to celebrate achievements within its organisation.
Physician and astronaut “Day Two started with another keynote speaker – Dr Dave Williams, a physician and astronaut, and former hospital CEO, who kept the audience spellbound with his account of joining NASA, and undertaking two space flights, which included a number of space walks. Even more remarkable was that he survived a bout of cancer to make his second flight into space aged 53. Following this talk, a number of CHES meetings were held, as well as the General Assembly of IFHE – which provided the opportunity for those attending the Congress other than Council members to hear what IFHE had been doing over the last two years, the financial position, and future plans. “The afternoon was taken up with
more technical papers, and culminated with a session on the Global Energy Awards. This year, for the first time, IFHE was pleased to recognise organisations around the world for saving energy. Almost 1000 hospitals participated from around the world, achieving an aggregate energy saving of 15% – equating to 5.3 m therms and 44 m KWHe, with the winner, Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Hospital from America, saving a staggering 64%. As this competition moves forward, the emphasis will be to focus on carbon reduction. “Following the Congress, a number
The delegation from the South African Federation of Healthcare Engineering.
of technical visits had been arranged to local hospitals, to give an insight into how Canada provides and runs its healthcare services.”
November 2022 Health Estate Journal 19
All photos courtesy of Kent Waddington Photography
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