A sneak peek of the 2026 PDC Summit

The 2026 International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction is hosted by 10 supporting organizations.

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Approximately 3,500 or more professionals from all disciplines of health care planning, design and construction (PDC) will gather on March 8-11 in Houston to share perspectives on designing, building and optimizing the health care physical environment at the International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction™ (PDC Summit™).

The PDC Summit is hosted by the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association (AHA) in collaboration with 10 other leading health care PDC and clinical organizations. They include the American Institute of Architects’ Academy of Architecture for Health, the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers, the American College of Healthcare Architects, ASHRAE, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, The Center for Health Design, FGI, the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety, and the Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design.

No other event unites this many health care constructors, facilities managers, owners and clinicians with designers and architects. The PDC Summit also provides opportunities to receive a variety of continuing education credits.

Summit program

Attendees can explore timely topics like pediatric environments, infection prevention, workplace violence, emergency planning, innovations in robotics, prefabrication and cancer center design. Sessions also dive into the details of FGI requirements, National Fire Protection Association standards, operating room environments, leadership development and patient safety, among others. Whether PDC professionals are looking to deepen their technical expertise or broaden their understanding of stakeholder priorities, the PDC Summit offers a rich mix of content to support their goals.

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The conference sessions are organized around seven official topic tracks, with four knowledge levels:

Learning tracks. The 2026 PDC Summit features refreshed and reimagined tracks designed to reflect the evolving needs of the field. Professionals can customize their experience by choosing sessions that address seven overarching subject matter areas, including financial implications of PDC; clinical perspectives in design; effective collaboration; safe and secure environments; compliance and policy; impactful interior environments; and research, design and outcomes (curated by The Center for Health Design).

Knowledge levels. Each session at the PDC Summit aligns with one of the learning tracks and knowledge levels, including strategic, applied, exploratory and foundational.

General sessions

Beyond the technical sessions, thought-provoking and engaging general sessions will provide perspectives and strategies on topics facing health care PDC, including:

• Welcome, awards and keynote: “Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success” — Every business or enterprise needs to have their people performing at the highest possible level. Yet, a recent study reported the average employee wastes 2.09 hours each day at work on non-related job tasks. Procrastination, as it turns out, is one of the most expensive yet invisible costs to individuals and companies worldwide. Strategist and business speaker Rory Vaden shares key insights and erases common misconceptions about how to overcome procrastination, creative avoidance, distraction, priority dilution, fatigue and other common success saboteurs by building lasting self-discipline.

  Also during this year’s opening session, ASHE will honor the winners of its 2026 Vista Awards for team-based PDC projects.

• The Center for Health Design Awards Ceremony and Changemaker keynote — The Center for Health Design Awards Ceremony celebrates individuals, organizations and project teams that are skillfully leveraging health care design research to enhance the health care experience; improve health, safety and wellness outcomes for patients, families and staff; and create the next generation of health care environments.

  At this year’s ceremony, The Center will honor a distinguished group of health care design individuals and organizations with four highly coveted and widely respected recognitions: Health Environment Awards, Touchstone Awards, the Joseph G. Sprague New Investigator Award and the Changemaker Award.

  PDC professionals can hear their stories and their impact; gain insights from projects and individuals whose contributions have taken full advantage of design’s potential to produce meaningful, measurable change; and help keep the spirit of continuous improvement alive in the profession.

• ”Washington Update” — Hear from AHA federal relations and policy staff on national-level activities related to legislation and AHA’s advocacy agenda. The speakers will walk through the current political environment and discuss the key bills, and current legislative and regulatory activity that will potentially impact hospitals in the short and long term. They also will discuss current AHA advocacy and outreach efforts to help advance health across the nation.
   
• Closing general session: “Resilience by Design: Preparing Health Care Environments for Disruption and Disaster” — Health care facilities must be equipped to withstand and recover from a wide range of disruptive events — from natural disasters like floods and wildfires to human-made crises such as cyberattacks, violence and system failures. This plenary session brings together experts from across the health care planning, design, engineering and clinical communities to explore how resilient environments are created and sustained. Through real-world examples and forward-looking strategies, attendees will gain insight into how health care spaces can remain safe, functional and supportive during crises.

Add-on events

Last, but not least, is a roster of add-on events that allow professionals to take deep dives into health care PDC concepts with respected faculty from leading organizations.

Related article // PDC Summit offers unique opportunities for collaboration

Health care planning, design and construction (PDC) involves many partners, each with specialized expertise. Effective collaboration between these professional types is vital to any project in the highly regulated health care field. The International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction^™ (PDC Summit^™) provides a unique opportunity for attendees to reach across the aisle, connect and learn from experts in other areas as well as their own.

Through blending perspectives, the PDC Summit program offers a collaborative approach to building and renovating health care facilities. PDC Summit attendees include:

• Administrators. New construction and renovation of a health care facility is a major investment. Senior administrators with responsibility for the design and construction of health care facilities should attend to gain insight on the strategic outlook for the health care physical environment and assess how to maximize operational efficiency through design.
• Architects and designers. Whether they want to learn about new building codes and standards, discover case studies on sustainable design practices or interact with prospective clients at one of the receptions, designers and architects will gain insight on trends impacting the various design and architecture activities associated with the health care physical environment.
• Care providers. The physical environment in which providers practice impacts the care experience. Whether they are focused on improving their organization’s care workflow, working with colleagues on the design of new health care facilities or seeking to share their experience delivering care with design and construction professionals, the PDC Summit will offer care providers knowledge and connections to support their goals.
• Contractors and construction professionals. Whether they’re attending the Certified Healthcare Constructor Exam Review Course, listening to a case study presentation on Lean methodologies or networking with prospective clients at one of the receptions, health care construction professionals will walk away from the PDC Summit with valuable knowledge and business connections.
• Facilities management professionals. Maximizing the efficiency of design and construction projects is critical to a health care facility’s bottom line. Facilities directors and managers working to optimize the physical environment of health care facilities will gain insight from the PDC Summit on innovative operational strategies that complement design and construction initiatives.