Dear *|FIRSTNAME|*

Here is your November 2025 IFHE Newseltter. 

Please circulate to members of your organisation and professional network.

Update your IFHE contact details HERE.

Dear Friends and colleagues

We are excited to share with you what IFHE is working on to improve Healthcare engineering globally.  The international healthcare fraternity continues to be concerned with what is and has been happening to healthcare facilities in places of conflict. While international humanitarian law mandates that healthcare facilities be protected during wartime, attacks on these facilities and their personnel have been widely reported in recent conflicts. Despite the legal protections, the reality on the ground is often different, with hospitals and clinics becoming targets, disrupting access to vital medical care for those affected by conflict. We as an international organization strongly condemn these attacks and encourage all parties to always see healthcare facilities as places of healing.

At the same time, we also encourage our designers and architects to be mindful of these possibilities when they design new facilities and seek solutions to combat these eventualities.

With respect to the functioning of our organization and working towards our objective to disseminate information for our members to be better equipped to serve healthcare institutions, I am pleased to advise that we are in the final stages of updates to the Statues and Standing Orders to be more relevant to current needs regarding the management of IFHE.

Our communications and educational working groups have hosted a number of collaborative Webinars which were made accessable to members globally.

Our IFHE events past and present remain vehicles which we are wanting to use to equip our members for remaining more relevant. Our Antwerp event was a huge success and I want to thank Rodger and his team for hosting us all where many relevant topics were discussed. They included topics of how to future proof healthcare facilities, designing facilities for ageing populations, the impact of digital evolution and its impact on how healthcare facilities are managed. There were also topics on sustainability and issues of cyber security.  In summary a very relevant conference with relevant topics.

Our work as servants to the healthcare industry remains a challenge and I therefore continue to encourage all our members to remain focused on how best to serve and improve healthcare delivery across the globe. The challenges are not getting less they are just becoming more challenging and as we have seen in COVID that the value of collaborating and sharing is the only vehicle to face and solve some of these challenges.

We therefore look forward to what is being prepared for us in New Orleans in 2026. Our diversity creates opportunity to develop tools to enhance service delivery and is not a barrier to create division.

Once again I encourage participation for all members across the globe to come and share their knowledge and expertise with the wider healthcare fraternity, by participating in the 2026 Building Awards and teh IFHE Cut-the-Carbs program.  These awards will be adjudicated and announced at the 2026 Congress in New Orleans.

Regards

Kevin D Poggenpoel

IFHE President

Earlier this year the IFHE Council was hosted in Antwerp, Belgium by A Member, Zorg.tech, who also hosted the 11th IFHE-EU Congress.  This meeting brought together 22 countries to learn together and share experiences of healthcare engineering.  ZORG.Tech President, Erik van de Wauwer, together with Congress Convener and incoming IFHE-EU President, Roger Albertijn arranged a superb gathering, that included an exhibition hosting more than 150 commercial partners, technical presentations from global specialists in healthcare engineering, blended with cultural and social activities.

The gathering included a committee meeting of willing volunteers who were reviewing the IFHE Standing Orders, an in-person meeting of the Executive Committee and a very productive IFHE Council Meeting (delegates pictured above).

The theme of the Congress was centred on Sustainability through Innovation, and touched on numerous leading issues and innovations.

Roger Albertijn (Zorg.tech), incoming President of IFHE-EU and Michele di Marco (WHO - Techne) 

A higlight of the Congress was the Gala Dinner, held in the Antwerp Handelsbeurs.

Join us in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 17-20, 2026, for a groundbreaking healthcare event! The 29th IFHE  Congress and HCD (Healthcare Design) Conference + Expo will co-locate, uniting global leaders in hospital engineering and healthcare design.

The Association of Medical Facilities Professionals (AMFP), the exclusive United States “A” member of IFHE, is playing a pivotal role in planning this mega-event, serving as the host country representative for the 2026 IFHE Congress. AMFP, jointly with EmeraldX, the owner of the HCD Conference + Expo, won the bid in 2022 to host this bi-annual IFHE Conference in the USA, bringing this vision to fruition.

Mark your calendars for this event next year. Follow the IFHE 2026 LinkedIn page to stay up to date on details: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ifhe-2026/about/

Premier Event Sponsor
We are thrilled to recognize Schneider Electric as the first premier event sponsor! Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Please reach out for details.

IFHE Congratulates OVKT (Austria) on its 30th Anniversary!

Matthias Schwabe (R), IFHE Treasurer presents IFHE certificate to Martin Krammer (L), President OVKT.

SIAIS (Italy) Celebrates an Outstanding XII National Congress in Early November.

INNOVATION IN HOSPITAL ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING FOR SUSTAINABLE AND SAFE HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

Three days of training, research, and discussion among professionals from hospital and healthcare organizations, regional technical departments, central administrations, companies, industry partners, academy, research institutions, as well as designers and planners. This is the essence of the 2025 S.I.A.I.S. National Congress in Ancona, which again this year brought together a multidisciplinary community committed to advancing and transforming Italy’s healthcare infrastructures and services.

“The S.I.A.I.S. 2025 Congress reaffirms the central role of technical expertise in transforming Italy’s healthcare infrastructure,” stated Eng. Daniela Pedrini, President of S.I.A.I.S. “Innovation, sustainability, and safety must advance together to build the hospital of the future.”

IFHE Leadership Team to Speak at

HEAJ National Conference.

The 54th HEAJ National Conference title "Towards Resilient Healthcare Engineering" will be held  at the Hitotsubashi Hall, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo on 28th and 29th November and will be headlined by IFHE Vice-President, Walt Vernon presenting on "De-carbonization of Healthcare Facilities" and IFHE ExCo member and Past-President, Daniela Pedrini presenting virtually on, "The Growing Risk of Climate Change and the Need for Preparedness in Healthcare Facilities in Europe."   

IFHE supports HEAJ in bringing global healthcare interests to its audience, promoting awareness of significant issues impacting on world-wide healthcare delivery.

IFHE ExCO member and HEAJ Director, Yoshihisa Hirayama, well known for bringing enthusiastic, post-lunch exercises to the 2025 Antwerp Council Meeting is chairing the international sessions.

IFHE & ASHRAE

SIGN

MEMORANDUM OF

UNDERSTANDING

In late June the ASHRAE Board held its Annual Meeting and the Board agreed to adopt a Memorandum of Understanding between ASHRAE and IFHE. According to the terms of the MOU, and its workplan, the two organizations will collaborate on the following: 

• Attend each other's meetings, including delivering educational content. 
• An ASHRAE expert will provide IFHE one webinar per year. 
• ASHRAE will support the IFHE Cut the Carbs Award (see below).
• ASHRAE and IFHE will develop a joint education program for control of waterborne pathogens in healthcare facilities. 
• ASHRAE and IFHE will coordinate an Addendum to the ASHRAE Decarbonization Design Guide, more tailored to non-US healthcare buildings.
• ASHRAE and IFHE will compare ventilation standards from around the world to derive common requirements. 
• Together we will support the WHO in its work to develop tools to assist in the development of more resilient, environmentally friendly and better healthcare facilities. 

IFHE is seeking volunteers to help us move some of this work forward. Please become part of this work to help all healthcare facility professionals to better serve our collective mission of providing safe, accessible, quality health care services.  Please email us at  volunteer@ifhe.info

Dear Healthcare Manager, Facility Administrator and IFHE Colleagues,

The World Health Organization, in collaboration with IFHE and other partners, is developing a simple online tool to support healthcare institutions, hospital managers, and health administrators in selecting the most context-appropriate technologies for healthcare waste management.

To ensure this tool is effective and tailored to real-world needs, we are conducting a short survey to gather essential data on the volume and types of waste produced by healthcare facilities across different settings and countries. Your input will be invaluable in helping us create a practical, evidence-informed solution.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

You can access it here: Click here to take the survey or scan the QR code below:

At the end of the survey, you may optionally provide your email address if you are open to being contacted for any clarifications or follow-up questions.

The survey will remain open as long as needed to ensure the highest possible data intake and broadest participation.

We also want to let you know that anonymized and aggregated data will be made available soon through an online dashboard. This will allow participating facilities and stakeholders to explore global and regional trends in healthcare waste generation.

We sincerely appreciate your time and insights. Your contribution will make a meaningful impact on improving environmental sustainability and safety in healthcare settings worldwide.

Thank you for supporting this important initiative.

In early May, WHO helped to convene a meeting in Gaeta, Italy. The conference was the 6th Workplace and Indoor Aerosols Conference. Walt Vernon, IFHE Vice President was a closing plenary speaker, focusing on creating a movement towards awareness of, and implementation of guidelines, standards, and codes to improve health of all peoples by mitigating risks from infectious aerosols, as well as other airborne health vectors. The conference was well attended, and IFHE members are able to access the conference abstracts here: https://indico.aiasnet.it/event/1/book-of-abstracts.pdf

IFHE will Present the 2026 Cut the Carbs Award in New Orleans. 

All health facilities who achieve a minimum 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emmisions over a two-year period will be provided with a certificate of recognition. IFHE will also recognize the one facility in each country who is able to reduce its consumption by more than any other facility. IFHE will also recognize the one facility in the world that achieves the largest reduction in this time frame. 

For the first time, IFHE has a corporate sponsor for this award. Mazzetti, an international engineering company with offices in Africa, India and the USA is our first corporate award sponsor. This sponsorship will allow IFHE to support and to grow the program, including providing air fare, and free admission to the 2026 IFHE Congress in New Orleans, where the award will be presented. 

Our members are on the front lines of driving improvement in our facilities. It is time that your efforts are recognized. IFHE is here to help. 

The new Cut the Carbs platform for 2026 will launch in the fall of this year. 

Building IFHE Membership.

The IFHE Executive Committee, under the leadership of President Kevin Poggenpoel, is building a Workplan and Budget for 2026, leading up to the 2026 Congress in New Orleans. 

At the 2025 Meeting in Belgium, the Council passed an important change to the Standing Orders, removing the limit of a 50 member minimum for membership of a National Association as an A Member. A Task Force is currently working on updates to the Financial Standing Orders, including a new structure for membership fees.

The current structure requires smaller organizations to pay more per member than larger organizations. The proposed Standing Orders will make the fee per member the same for all organizations. The revised Standing Order also proposes discounts for countries in the lower economic tiers, as determined by the World Bank. This change, plus the change to the minimum number of members, will make it easier for more countries to become A members of IFHE, thus growing our ability to truly connect health facility professionals around the world. 

Vice President, Walt Vernon spent the weeks leading up to the meeting in Antwerp traveling through a number of European countries, meeting with leaders of the IFHE associations. He was able to meet with leaders in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the UK with the main goal of strengthening the bonds between IFHE member countries.

Another goals was to hear about ways that IFHE can better serve members. It was these visits that helped lead to the new Workplan and Budget discussed above. The IFHE Leadership is very focused on building the ability of our shared organization to deliver support to all members to better help us to achieve our mutual goals to support the health of our respective communities.