Winnipeg 2026 – Creative and Collaborative Partnerships that Drive Meaningful Change
Creative and Collaborative Partnerships that Drive Meaningful Change
Join us in Winnipeg for a forward-looking event exploring how creative collaboration and strategic partnerships are transforming healthcare infrastructure across the region.
This program will examine the critical role healthcare facilities play in community revitalization, with a focus on downtown Winnipeg’s renewal and the economic and social benefits that follow. From capital investments that enhance operational performance to culturally responsive designs for Indigenous and newcomer communities, we’ll explore how thoughtful planning can improve patient outcomes, workforce experience, and long-term sustainability.
Sessions will also highlight the importance of therapeutic outdoor spaces, the application of CSA Z8008 standards for facility assessment and reuse, and innovative approaches to cancer care coordination across the care continuum.
Connect, learn, and help shape the future of healthcare infrastructure in Winnipeg. Stay tuned for more details!
Tickets available below for:
Ice-Breaker Welcome Reception at SMITH Restaurant, located inside Inn at the Forks – September 30.
Unique opportunity to tour the recently completed and unopened Portage La Prairie Hospital.
EXTENDED – Early Bird Pricing until September 9th!
Annual Sponsors
Event Sponsors
Featured Speakers
Craig B. Doerksen
Todd Blackman
Jim Ludlow
Carl Drohomereski
Jerald Peters
Diego Morettin
Glenda Gartner
Gordon Burrill
Helen Margiotta
Michael Conway
Scott Stephanson
Matthew Bowering
Laura Walton
Dr. Peter MacDonald
Dr. Piotr Czaykowski
Tracey Schlamb
Deputy Minister Silvester Komlodi
Karolina Anastasopoulos
Adam Taferner
Kelly Henderson
David Van Hooren
Robert McEwen
Heather Bosko
Leif Aarrestad
Kyle Basilius
Dr. Mélanie Morris
Beth Lavelle
Conference Topics
Community Revitalization and Health Services as a Community Asset
Examining the role of healthcare infrastructure in the revitalization of downtown Winnipeg and its impact on economic and social development
Linking health capital investments to improved operations
Capital projects are an opportunity to enhance efficiency, patient flow, workforce experience and long-term operational performance
Designing for Indigenous Health and New Canadians
Creating culturally responsive healthcare environments that improve patient experiences, accessibility and health outcomes
Healthy outdoor Space for Staff and Patients
Leveraging therapeutic landscapes, green spaces and outdoor amenities to support staff well-being, productivity and patient recovery
The Assessment of Facilities for Reuse and Adaptation
Incorporating the specific type of health needs and aligning with risk typologies, including the application of CSA Z8008
Managing the scope of Cancer Care
Exploring Winnipeg region’s capital-led initiatives to improve coordination capacity and operational performance across the entire care continuum
Conference Objectives
- Highlight key projects in Manitoba that are reshaping care in new ways that foster partnerships and promote health communities
- Learn about Manitoba’s approach to shared services that incorporates strategic use of resources in the region
- Partnerships with Indigenous and new communities and how these groups lead not influence health design
- Digging into the relationship between CapEx and Opx in builds and the interrelationship can make or break a project
- And more!
Draft Conference Agenda
*Agenda subject to change.
Manitoba Teachers’ Society Classrooms, Canadian Museum for Human Rights
8:00 – 8:50 AM | Networking Breakfast Network with your peers, enjoy a hot breakfast
9:00 – 9:15 AM | Welcome
Gordon Burrill, CCHF President
Craig Doerksen, Executive Director, Capital, Clinical Engineering and Facilities Management, Manitoba Shared Health
9:15 – 10:00 AM | Capital Investments and Strategic Decisions In Manitoba’s Cancer Care System
Manitoba Shared Health, clinical leaders and healthcare designers will discuss capital investments and strategic decisions to improve access, research, innovation, and patient outcomes, exploring:
Planning for increasing demand while supporting patients throughout every stage of the cancer journey.
Creating an integrated ecosystem that connects the new CancerCare Centre, Bannatyne campus, research, diagnostics, and community care.
Leveraging existing infrastructure and technologies while making strategic new capital investments.
Scott Stephanson, Project leader, Department Led Capital Projects (DLCP), Manitoba Shared Health
Diego Morettin, Architect and Partner, Dialog
Todd Blackman, Department Led Capital Projects, Manitoba Shared Health
Matt Bowering, Principal, Architect, LM-ESP
Tracey Schlamb, Vice President of Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Officer, CancerCare Manitoba
Dr. Piotr Czaykowski, Medical Oncologist, CancerCare Manitoba
10:00 – 10:30 AM | Break
10:30 – 11:15 AM | Meeting Complex Healthcare Capital Needs Faster
Agnew Peckham will share, from an elevated functional planning and programming perspective, how to meet complex capital healthcare needs faster, drawing on case studies across Canada. The presentation will examine early capital planning and master planning strategies for capacity in existing facilities and highlighting lessons learned at different stages of development.
• Expedite the programming work and overall project schedule to get to schematic design faster (CCMB)
• Identify key capital planning/project priorities to create manageable capital projects (Nova Scotia Central Zone Clinical Services Plan/Master Program)
• Leverage existing facilities to respond quicker to health system capacity pressures
Robert McEwen, Partner, Agnew Peckham
11:15 – 12:00 PM | Facilitated Tabletop Discussions
12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch
1:00 – 1:40 PM | Keynote Address
Deputy Minister Silvester Komlodi, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care, Government of Manitoba
1:40 –2:25 PM | Beyond Project Delivery: Integrating Operational Readiness into Capital Projects for Sustainable Operational Success
In healthcare, capital project success isn’t just about a new facility or technology, it’s about staff, physicians, and care teams being fully prepared to deliver safe, high-quality care from day one. Operational Readiness aligns people, processes, technology, and facilities to ensure a seamless transition from project completion to clinical operations. Conducted alongside design and construction, it bridges project delivery and operational performance, validating clinical workflows and requirements before key decisions are finalized.
This session explores how healthcare organizations can integrate Operational Readiness throughout the capital project lifecycle, drawing on real-world lessons and leading practices.
Learning Objectives:
• Describe Operational Readiness’s role in patient safety, quality of care, and operational performance
• Recognize the importance of staff and stakeholder preparedness in transitions to new facilities
• Explore how readiness reduces risk and supports performance during activation
• Understand how early engagement improves planning, design, and cost/schedule outcomes
Helen Margiotta, Principal, Client Solutions, PMCM, Stantec
Karolina Anastasopoulos, Consultant, Operational Readiness Planning, Stantec
Heather Bosko, Senior Planner, Shared Health MB
Leif Aarrestad, Senior Project Manager, Shared Health MB
2:25 – 2:55 PM | Break
2:55 – 3:40 PM | From Risk to Resilience: Climate Adaptation Strategies for Healthcare Facilities
As climate-related events such as wildfire smoke, flooding, extreme weather, and heat events increasingly impact healthcare facilities, organizations must adapt their planning, design, and operational strategies to maintain continuity of care.
This session brings together perspectives from sustainability, architecture, and healthcare operations to explore practical approaches to climate resilience. Through a series of healthcare case studies, including Quw’utsun Valley Hospital (QVH), New Surrey Hospital and BC Cancer Centre, and Burnaby Hospital and BC Cancer Centre, participants will learn how climate resilience strategies have evolved from project to project and how these lessons are informing broader resilience frameworks across the healthcare sector.
The session will include a demonstration of a Climate Hazard Risk Assessment, illustrating how organizations can identify, evaluate, and prioritize climate-related risks affecting their facilities. An owner/operator representative will then share firsthand experience managing climate-related disruptions and discuss the operational challenges and adaptation measures required to maintain healthcare service delivery.
Attendees will gain practical insights into integrating climate resilience into healthcare planning, design, and operations, while learning strategies that can be applied within their own organizations to strengthen preparedness and long-term resilience.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Understand how climate resilience strategies have evolved across recent Canadian healthcare facility projects.
2. Identify opportunities to integrate climate hazard considerations into healthcare planning and design processes.
3. Apply the principles of a Climate Hazard Risk Assessment to assess vulnerabilities and inform decision-making.
4. Recognize operational challenges associated with climate-related events and strategies to maintain continuity of care.
Kyle Basilius, Principal, Parkin Architects
Beth Lavelle, Regional Sustainability Manager, Architect, Parkin Architects
3:40 – 4:25 PM |
5:00 – 6:30 PM | Networking Reception at Museum for Human Rights, Garden Of Contemplation
6:30 – 7:30 PM | Guided Tour of Canadian Museum for Human Rights
*Note: This tour requires a separate ticket (not included with conference registration). Purchase additional ticket to attend.
Bonnie & John Buhler Hall, Canadian Museum for Human Rights
8:00 – 8:15 AM | Networking Breakfast Network with your peers
8:15 – 8:30 AM | Welcome / Overview
Gordon Burrill, CCHF President
Craig Doerksen, Executive Director, Capital, Clinical Engineering and Facilities Management, Manitoba Shared Health
8:30 – 9:00 AM | Indigenous Community Healing Space
Michelle Leung, Architect, Stantec
Dr. Melanie Morris, Pediatric Surgeon, HSC
9:00 – 9:30 AM | Vision for Winnipeg’s Revitalization Project
Jim Ludlow, CEO, True North Real Estate Development Limited
9:30 – 10:20 AM | When Vision Meets Partnership: The Portage Place Revitalization and Healthcare Centre of Excellence
This session explores how the Portage Place Revitalization Project and the Healthcare Centre of Excellence (HCCE) are redefining what is possible when healthcare infrastructure, community development, and private-sector leadership are brought together through a shared vision. As part of one of the largest urban revitalization initiatives in Winnipeg’s history, the project is transforming a former retail destination into a vibrant mixed-use campus anchored by healthcare, housing, community services, and public space. Presenters will examine how innovative partnerships between True North Real Estate Development, Shared Health, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Pan Am Clinic, Architecture49, PCL Constructors, Indigenous partners, and levels of government have created a new model for delivering healthcare infrastructure in Canada.
Following the journey from vision to possibility, the presentation will explore the healthcare, operational, and community influences that inspired change, the innovative decisions that shaped the project, and the key partnership moments that turned vision into reality. Through the lens of the Healthcare Centre of Excellence, attendees will gain insight into the planning and design of integrated primary care, diagnostic imaging, orthopedic care, and kidney health services within an adaptive-reuse development. A multidisciplinary panel of project leaders, healthcare executives, designers, clinicians, and builders will discuss lessons learned, projected outcomes, and how this unique developer-led approach can inform future healthcare infrastructure projects across Canada.
Glenda Gartner, Senior Vice-President, True North Real Estate Development
Jaret Klymchuck, Director of Planning, Capital & Facilities Management, Shared Health
Carl Drohmereski, Prairies Healthcare Lead, Architecture49
Michael Conway, Prairies Design Practice Lead, Architecture49
Laura Walton, Executive Director, Health Services, Pan Am Clinic
Dr. Peter MacDonald, Medical Director, Site Medical Lead, Pan Am Clinic
David Van Hooren, Senior Construction Manager, PCL Constructors
10:20 – 10:40 AM | Break
10:40 AM – 11:30 AM | From Portfolio to Project: Collaborative Delivery of the Portage Regional Health Centre
Manitoba has been advancing a coordinated program of healthcare capital investments intended to strengthen regional networks and bring more care closer to home. The new Portage Regional Health Centre—a two-storey, approximately 275,000-square-foot facility with 114 acute care beds—provides a timely case study in translating provincial priorities into a rapidly delivered, community-responsive healthcare project.
Bringing together perspectives from the provincial and regional health system, architecture, engineering and construction management teams, this panel will explore how early collaboration shaped project delivery including:
– The benefits of the construction management model, the use of ‘design assist’ with key mechanical and electrical trades, and the governance and decision-making practices that supported progress through design and construction.
– Balancing provincial standards and regional service objectives with the needs of local clinicians, patients and communities;
– How to incorporate project lessons into new projects; and, how healthcare capital programs maintain momentum through changing political and organizational cycles.
Moderator: Kelly Henderson, Digital Strategy Lead, Associate Director, Angus Connect, HH Angus
Scott Hammond, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Partner, SMS Engineering
Adam Taferner, Senior Project Manager, PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
Jerald Peters, Principal, Architect, ft3 Architecture
11:30 – 12:30 PM | Lunch
* Delegates attending tour meet shuttle for departure
12:30 PM | Depart for TOUR: New Portage Regional Health Centre (transportation provided)
*Note: This tour requires a separate ticket (not included with conference registration). Purchase additional ticket to attend.
Tour from 2:00-3:00 PM: Join us for an exclusive tour of the newly completed Portage Regional Health Centre—a modern, two-story facility spanning approximately 275,000 square feet. Designed to meet the community’s evolving needs, the centre features 114 acute care beds and will offer medical care, palliative care, rehabilitation, family birthing, surgical services, and special care.
The building is complete, with final work focused on equipment and training ahead of the fall 2026 opening. Don’t miss this behind‑the‑scenes look at a landmark facility for the region.
The return shuttle will drop attendees off at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
12:30 PM | Wrap Up / Conference Close
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