IFHE CONGRESS


Congress from AMFP from America and WGKT/FKT from Germany. Both organisations gave excellent presentations promoting the value of holding an IFHE Congress in their country. After a secret ballot, AMFP was declared the winner; the 2026 Congress will thus take place in New Orleans from 16-20 October 2026. It was also agreed that interim meetings of Council will take place in Mexico City in 2023, and Antwerp in 2025. The outgoing President, Daniela Pedrini, gave her report on her tenure as President which was, we all hope, a unique experience – since apart from the Congress in Canada, there had been no face to face meeting at all. She made particular reference to the work of small teams of architects and engineers in providing rapid assistance to WHO when it required designs to be prepared for COVID units in areas without the expertise to accomplish this quickly. The continuing relationship with WHO as an NGO in formal relations with it was noted.


Recognising excellence During the Congress, the International Building Awards were presented, with 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


A First Nation elder opens Congress with a song, which was followed by a dance performance by a First Nation group.


the ice hockey Hall of Fame – a building that holds many facts and figures relating to ice hockey. Congress opened with an address


from First Nation elder Garry Sault, who welcomed all with a prayer and song. This was followed by a performance from local First Nation dance group Red Sky. Congress then heard from Haley Wickenheiser, a retired ice hockey player and physician, 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.


Space walks 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 their paper on the need to find a common language for the planning and design of new hospitals. 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, and


electrical safety systems, Authorising Engineers, architecture for hospitals in emergency situations, planning for the future, and AI, with one entitled 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. Day Two started with another keynote


speaker – Dr Dave Williams, a physician and astronaut, 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 1,000 hospitals participated from around the world, achieving an aggregate energy saving of 15 per cent – equating to 5.3 million therms and 44 million KWHe, with the winner, Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Hospital from America, saving a staggering 64 per cent. As this competition moves forward, the emphasis will be to focus on carbon reduction. Following the Congress, a number of


The SAFHE delegation at Congress. IFHE DIGEST 2023


technical visits had been arranged to local hospitals, to give an insight into how Canada provides and runs its healthcare services.


IFHE 15


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