Healthcare systems across Canada are experiencing parallel pressures: aging infrastructure, escalating construction and equipment costs, workforce shortages, and care models evolving faster than the facilities designed to support them. Bottlenecks in the healthcare system may manifest differently, but these challenges require shared innovative solutions across provinces and territories. It’s time to seize the opportunity with an “elbows-up” approach, a uniquely Canadian approach that brings together health leaders and experts in project design and health systems operations who are making a difference.

This CCHF conference theme in Vancouver will focus on reducing bottlenecks from various perspectives, including policy, planning and design, construction, and digital health data, and on using technology to support greater building / operational efficiencies.

Topics of discussion will include:

• Understanding population health data to better cater to the health needs of the communities being served, and understanding risks better through scenario planning
• Unlocking system capacity that improves patient flow, connects facilities for various levels of care and their operations systematically
• Optimizing design from master planning to standard floorplates and flexible in-patient rooms
• Considering the array of facilities re-use of buildings, project phasing and health build that relieve pressure on operating rooms, such as ambulatory care surgical centres, urgent care clinics and long-term care
• Reducing friction between care providers and patients using data-driven digital health and artificial intelligence, and how regions are sharing intelligence to improve efficiencies
• Case studies, including the recently completed Burnaby Redevelopment Project and planning the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia
•  The Post Conference Workshop will overview of the recent publication by the BC Seniors Advocate as relates to housing and services, LTC construction costs, and various long-term care/seniors housing options

Background:

Healthcare systems are not constrained by a single bottleneck, but by a series of interconnected constraints spanning facilities, workforce, operations, and care models. While funding and staffing challenges are significant, the design of our physical and operational healthcare environments plays a decisive role in either relieving or reinforcing congestion.

When planning, design and delivery are aligned with the core business of health systems – providing timely, appropriate care in the right setting – latent capacity can be unlocked. Intentional design reduces friction for patients and staff, improves flow and strengthens confidence in the system. Poorly aligned environments, by contrast, drain teams, fragment care, and create wide service gaps.

This two-day conference brings together healthcare owners, operators, architects, engineers, constructors and policy leaders to examine the real pinch points constraining performance and to share practical strategies for building smarter, more resilient healthcare systems across Canada.

Conference Objectives:

• Explore capacity bottlenecks across healthcare systems and how they are being improved upon through leadership, health data analysis and process improvements
• How design and engineering impacts improve the flow of patients and patient care
• Cross-provincial lessons in planning, procurement, and delivery that reduce time and money
• Aligning facilities design with evolving models of care and workforce realities using digital health and AI to streamline processes
• Strengthen collaboration between owners, designers engineers and constructors, owners and communities
• Embedding community and social values in design as integral to the systems design

Draft Conference Agenda 

Day 1 – May 4, 2026

8:00 – 8:50 AM | Networking Breakfast

Network with your peers, enjoy a hot breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 AM | Opening Remarks

9:15 – 10:00 AM | How health data analysis is used to strategically inform infrastructure capacity needs, service demand forecasting, and operational effectiveness

Dr. Jason Sutherland, Centre for Health Services and Policy, University of British Columbia

10:00 – 10:30 AM | BREAK

10:30 – 11:15 AM | Data Science and Analysis: Scenario Planning: Strengthening Health Ecosystems by Population Health and System Integration

Dr. Gavin Wardle, Preyra Solutions Group Consultants

11:15 – 12:00 PM | Facilitated Group Discussions from Acute Lens to System Design and Capital Alignment – Easing the pressure

• Redesigning the patient journey based on congestion points
• Identifying the misalignments
• Moving from the concept ED is full to why does the ED exist as the default intake mechanism

12:00 – 1:00 PM | | LUNCH

1:00 – 1:45 PM |TBC Master planning based on population health requirements and the Provinces demographics

1:45  – 2:15 PM | TBC Cancer Care Health Planning and Design in BC

2:15 – 2:45 PM | BREAK

2:45 – 3:30 | Integrating New Technologies into Planning and Design to Improve Space Utilization at Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto

Akira Jones, Director, Digital Services, H.H. Angus

Carol Robinson, Patient Care Manager, Garry Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (joining virtually)

3:30 – 4:15 PM | Connecting Technology, Operations and Facility Design: From Fire Fighting to Foresight 

Jennifer MacGregor, President, Elewana Advisory
Mathieu Lebreton, Interim Director – Biomedical Engineering & New Campus Development Digital Experience
Hamidreza Eslami, Director, Data Science, Fraser Health Authority

4:15 – 5:00 PM | Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment Project: Planning for the Needs of the Community to Ease Congestion and Flow

Anita Wempe, Chief Clinical Planner, Burnaby Hospital Redevelopment Project
Jessica Foster, Senior Leader, Operational Readiness and Strategic Change Management, Fraser Health Authority

5:00 | Conference Close

5:30 – 6:30 PM | Networking Reception at JW Parq Marriott

Day 2 – May 5, 2026

8:00 – 8:50 AM | Networking Breakfast

Network with your peers, enjoy a hot breakfast

8:50 – 9:15 AM | Welcome and Key Outcomes of Day 1

9:15 – 10:00 AM | Panel: Where Do We Go From Here? Addressing Project Cost Control In Healthcare Projects

This panel discusses the imbalance in healthcare costs compared to other sectors and how these bottle-necks delay the project delivery process and increase costs. Areas of discussion will include: costs of healthcare construction compared to ‘regular’ construction fees; supply chain disruptions and labour and material shortages; the application of facilities standards and risk management by key stakeholders in the public health system.

Tariq Amlani, Senior Health Sector Leader Canada, Stantec
Kieran McDonald, Partner, Agnew Peckham
Susan Neil, President, Hanscomb Inc.
Stephen Rowe, National Health Sector Lead, HDR
EllisDon (TBC)
Jeff Good, Vice-President, Alliance and Stakeholder Engagement, Infrastructure BC

10:00 – 10:45 AM |Ambulatory Care Builds at Sutter Health

Lindsey Dru, Operations Executive, Ambulatory Growth, Sutter Health

10:45 – 11:15 AM | BREAK

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Adaptive Re-Use of Commercial Properties for Seniors Housing

12:00 – 1:00 PM | LUNCH

1:00 – 1:45  PM | Planning for University Hospital of Northern British Columbia

Planning for the northern communities of BC has unique considerations given communities unique needs and meeting location challenges. Learn from the planning and design leaders the the approaches that will integrate unique care needs of the communities for generations.

Sherri Tillotson, Senior Clinical Planning Officer, Northern Health
Ronald B. McIntyre, Partner, Architect, DIALOG

1:45 – 2:30 PM | Improving workforce design in healthcare and reducing costs for health facilities office space

Ian McDermott, Vice President, Facilities and Capital Development, Sinai Health
Susan Chang, Executive Vice President, Workplace Design Advisory, JLL Design Americas

2:30 – 3:00 BREAK

3:00 – 4:15 Have Standards Gone too Far? Needs Versus Wants and Managing Risks 

Gordon Burrill, Teegor Consulting Inc.

4:15 PM | Wrap Up / Conference Close

*Agenda subject to change. Stay tuned for more details!

The conference program will include interactive sessions, panels, a reception, and a guided tour TBC.

More information will be available soon!

Post-Conference May 6, 2026 (Tickets Sold Separately)

Round off your experience with our Post-Conference Events – More details to be announced

Addressing the Impacts of Escalating Costs of LTC Projects:

Vancouver Post-Conference Events: Addressing the Crisis of Seniors housing and LTC

Conference Location:

Parq Marriott
39 Smith Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 0R3

Hotel Accommodations

*Important Hotel Note: Due to high demand coinciding with the FIFA World Cup, we strongly advise booking your accommodations as soon as possible to secure availability and rates.

A select number of rooms have been set aside for our out-of-town conference attendees at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver. To take advantage of our special room rates, reservations must be made by April 2nd, 2026 by 12PM noon PST. 

Online Booking: Use the dedicated reservation website: Book Now. Guests can make, modify, and cancel their hotel reservations through this link.

Phone Booking: Call 1-888-236-2427 or 1-801-468-4000 (for Marriott Bonvoy members) to reserve by phone.

Audience

• Healthcare leaders in Facilities & Redevelopment, Corporate Services, CEO, CFO’s
• Clinical Leads (CMIOs, Nursing, Medical leads)
• Capital Planning leaders and Project Directors
• ICAT / IMIT Leaders
• Design / Build Executives
• Constructors / Project Managers
• Consulting / Design Engineers
• Architects
• Planning Consultants
• Infection Control Professionals
• Quality and Patient Safety
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Capital Planners, Infrastructure Planners
• Hospital Service Providers
• Energy Services Companies
• Healthcare Vendors

Note: Speakers and topics may change based on their availability. CCHF makes every effort to only publish confirmed speakers.

Cancellation Policy

Fees are non-refundable. Registrants may be replaced by a colleague of the same organization, if written notification is given prior to the event. Note that CCHF does not guarantee all speakers. There may be substitutions due to availability or the need to make program changes. In the highly unlikely event of a program cancellation, CCHF will credit your company for the same value of the next event in your area.