FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Fig 6: Makunouchi-kai Sannodai Hospital. Fig 7: Onchikai Aizu Chuo Hospital.
problems. While a comfortable work environment is often a low-priority issue in medical facilities as it does not directly increase revenue, FM can contribute to facility design and operation that improves the physical and mental health of healthcare professionals. Improving the work environment is becoming essential for staff to focus on their core duties, which in turn improves the quality of medical care and addresses the challenges of securing healthcare professionals. JFMA Award-winning projects
concretely demonstrate FM’s contribution in this area. Shinbi-kai Nakano Children’s Hospital created an environment where professionals can work enthusiastically for the long term by embodying a ‘childcare support perspective’ in its hospital policy. FM has a crucial role in providing appropriate control of illumination, temperature, and humidity, noise countermeasures, and high-quality rest areas. These initiatives are expected to reduce the burden on professionals and contribute to the stable quality of medical care. The case of Gifu Prefectural Gero Onsen Hospital, with its all-private patient rooms, also reduces the burden on professionals through efficient flow line planning. In facility reorganisation and consolidation, the effective use of existing facilities and the development of new multi-purpose facilities require a specialised FM perspective. The case of Tama Medical PFI
Corporation shows that using the PFI method and introducing private FM know-
how can achieve efficient facility development and long-term cost optimisation. Furthermore, promoting green (environmentally friendly) hospitals balances reduced running costs with the hospital’s corporate social responsibility (CSR). As Kurashiki Central Hospital also focuses on utility cost reduction, FM enhances a facility’s value from both environmental performance and management efficiency, contributing to sustainable operation. The insights from these JFMA Award-winning projects are practical guidelines for creating a sustainable future for healthcare facilities.
Conclusion and future outlook This article has examined the effectiveness of introducing FM methods into healthcare facilities, as observed in JFMA Award-winning projects. We have argued that FM can provide effective solutions to the diverse challenges faced by Japanese healthcare facilities – including the ageing population, financial constraints, ageing infrastructure, securing healthcare professionals, and pandemic response – drawing on JFMA’s long- standing objective evaluations and concrete award-winning case studies. FM is not merely a maintenance
technique; it is a management activity that regards facilities as management resources and aims to optimise them throughout their entire lifecycle. In healthcare facilities, FM serves as an indispensable foundation for fulfilling their unique mission of ensuring patient life and safety, providing advanced medical care, and contributing to the local community.
The JFMA Award-winning projects clearly demonstrate that FM brings concrete improvements from various aspects: integration with management strategy, pursuit of patient and user-centred comfort and safety, contribution to disaster resilience and BCP enhancement, and public-private partnerships for efficient facility operations. These initiatives are supported by a track record of effectively and directly solving the challenges faced by Japanese healthcare facilities, as detailed above. Notably, the pandemic further elevated
the strategic value of FM by prompting healthcare facilities to strengthen infection control measures, design highly flexible and adaptable facilities, and re-evaluate their roles within their communities. Japanese healthcare facilities will continue to face new challenges, such as promoting healthcare DX, enhancing well-being for healthcare workers, facility reorganisation and consolidation, advancing green (environmentally friendly) hospitals, and leveraging FM as a real estate strategy. The cumulative achievements of the
JFMA Awards over 19 years and the insights derived from them offer compelling practical examples that demonstrate how FM can serve as an effective compass for navigating these challenges. After studying precisely these JFMA Award-winning projects, it is clear that FM is not just a theory, but a practical methodology capable of producing concrete results on the ground and solving the problems faced by healthcare facilities. Learning from these successful cases and having each medical institution formulate and implement FM strategies tailored to their specific circumstances will be essential for the stability and development of healthcare delivery systems in the future. As a crucial management methodology that supports the foundation of healthcare management and responds to changing societal needs, FM will undoubtedly continue to be developed with its important feature. IFHE
References l JFMA Award Winners Record. [
https://www.jfma.or.jp/award/page1.html# history].*
l Official Facility Management Guide 5th Edn. JFMA, 2021.
l IFHE Digest Past Issues. l St. Luke’s International Hospital. [
https://hospital.luke.ac.jp].*
l Gifu Prefectural Gero Onsen Hospital. [
https://www.gero-hosp.jp].*
l Shimizu Corporation. [
https://www.shimz.co.jp].*
l Social Medical Corporation Shinbi-kai Nakano Children’s Hospital. [
https://nakanokodomo.jp].*
Fig 8: Tama Medical PFI Corporation. 42
Fig 9: Tokyo Women’s Medical University Yachiyo Medical Center.
l Medical Corporation Makunouchi-kai Sannodai Hospital. [
https://sannodai.or.jp].* *Accessed: June 24, 2025
IFHE DIGEST 2026
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