Healthcare Design in an Era of Constraint

Interface Engineering invites you to attend the first installment of our 2026 High Performance Buildings Educational Series, Healthcare Design in an Era of Constraint, presented by Principals Jim Sattem, PE, CHC and Jesse Agosta, PE, HFDP.

Healthcare organizations nationwide are operating under unprecedented pressure. Margin compression, staffing shortages, aging infrastructure, evolving care models, and decarbonization mandates are redefining how facilities must perform often without corresponding increases in capital funding. These challenges demand greater rigor and alignment in early planning and infrastructure decisions.

This course explores the key forces shaping today’s healthcare market and examines how early architectural and engineering choices can either intensify or relieve long‑term operational and financial strain. Through real‑world examples, the presenters challenge common assumptions such as oversizing for safety, designing permanently for peak demand, defaulting to complex systems, or treating electrification as a purely technical decision and highlight how these approaches can produce unintended life‑cycle consequences.

Participants will gain practical insight into how stronger alignment during programming and early planning phases can improve operational resilience, protect financial performance, support staff well‑being, and enable credible, phased sustainability strategies. The course emphasizes integrated architectural and engineering thinking to support owner outcomes beyond first cost and baseline code compliance.

This webinar is intended for facility managers, architects, engineers, and design professionals seeking a clearer understanding of how early infrastructure decisions influence long‑term performance, flexibility, and life‑cycle value in healthcare environments.

We hope you can join us.

April 29, 2026: 12pm EST & 12pm PST

Credit Type: 1 LU|HSW

This Webinar is being offered at two time slots to accommodate regional time zone differences:

RSVP for Session One: 12 pm Eastern

RSVP for Session Two: 12 pm Pacific

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key operational and financial pressures affecting healthcare facilities, including margin compression, staffing shortages, aging infrastructure, and decarbonization mandates.
2. Evaluate common design assumptions—such as oversizing, permanent peak‑load design, and system complexity—and assess their alignment with long‑term owner goals.
3. Analyze how early architectural decisions related to zoning, infrastructure capacity, equipment placement, and spatial planning impact efficiency and future adaptability.
4. Describe strategies for aligning sustainability and electrification goals with healthcare resilience requirements, including phased and hybrid approaches.
5. Explain how environmental stability, acoustics, maintainable system design, and infrastructure foresight contribute to staff well‑being and long‑term value.

Presenters

Jesse Agosta, PE, HFDP
Jesse is a Principal and mechanical engineer specializing in sustainable healthcare design. A Certified Healthcare Facility Design Professional, he has led hospital, outpatient, and behavioral health projects across the Pacific Northwest, including LEED Platinum and Net Zero Energy facilities. His work emphasizes decarbonization, resilience, and operational simplicity, aligning engineering strategies with clinical and staff outcomes.

Jim Sattem, PE, CHC
Jim is a Principal, Electrical Discipline Leader, and leader of Interface Engineering’s Northwest Healthcare Design team with more than 20 years of experience. As a Certified Healthcare Constructor, he brings deep expertise in managing complex healthcare projects, with particular strength in master planning, infrastructure upgrades, and phased construction within active facilities.