FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2026

2026 ASHE Awards recognize extraordinary contributions to the healthcare facilities management field

CHICAGO — The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE), a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association, celebrates the extraordinary achievements by members to improve the healthcare physical environment with its annual member awards. Awardees will be recognized during the 2026 Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference® taking place August 2-5 in Minneapolis.

The Crystal Eagle Leadership Award, considered ASHE’s lifetime achievement award, is presented to James (Jim) Peterkin, PE, LEED AP, FASHE, principal, operations manager and senior fire protection engineer for TLC Engineering Solutions in Philadelphia.

Peterkin boasts more than three decades in the healthcare facilities field and has been an ASHE member since 2006. In that time, he has contributed extensively to core ASHE initiatives, such as developing cornerstone ASHE education programs, serving as ASHE faculty, chairing the ASHE Regulatory Affairs Committee and representing ASHE in key regulatory efforts. He is also an influential figure on technical committees for several National Fire Protection Association codes — including NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, and NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code® — where he has diligently represented ASHE members and the healthcare facilities field on major issues that affect their work. Notably, he is recognized as a crucial contributor to discussions that led to the adoption of NFPA 99’s risk-based approach with the 2012 edition, a significant development that has aligned compliance with the realities of healthcare facilities operations.

“Jim Peterkin’s dedication to the healthcare facilities field is felt all across so many facets of ASHE,” says Chad Beebe, AIA, CHFM, CFPS, CBO, FASHE, ASHE’s deputy executive director. “His deep knowledge of the healthcare codes is equally matched by his discipline, patience and integrity, which he displays in all his contributions to ASHE, from teaching to facilitating code discussions. Jim singularly embodies the definition of a servant leader, and ASHE is honored to present him with this award.”

ASHE President’s Award presented to George Oberlander Jr.

The ASHE President’s Award, which is given at the discretion of the sitting ASHE president to an individual who goes above and beyond to optimize the healthcare physical environment, is presented to George Oberlander Jr., IE, chief engineer and director for CFS Facilities Management Inc. in New York.

Oberlander’s decorated career in facilities management spans more than 40 years, including 15 years leading CFS Facilities Management, the consulting firm he founded. He is recognized in his field as a champion for asset data standardization in facilities management, and notably contributed to the development of ASHE’s landmark Healthcare Facilities Management Data Nomenclature Standards, a document that helps healthcare planners, designers and operators unify asset data across systems. In 2020, Oberlander accepted ASHE’s prestigious Excellence in Facilities Management Award on behalf of Yale New Haven Health for his work leading the implementation of a new computerized maintenance management system, space management tool and data standardization convention. 

“George Oberlander is a servant leader who boldly goes where no one has gone before as he works to support ASHE on the data standards task force and other initiatives,” says ASHE President Dennis Ford, MHA, CHFM, CHC, FASHE. “It is my honor to recognize him as the recipient of this year’s President’s Award.”

Longtime healthcare advocate celebrated for dedicated partnership with ASHE

Additionally, ASHE recognizes Kimberly Paarlberg, RA, senior staff architect at the International Code Council (ICC), with a one-time award for her extraordinary contributions to the healthcare physical environment field through collaboration with ASHE. 

Paarlberg is a founding member of the ICC Committee on Healthcare, a standing committee developed in cooperation with ASHE to facilitate alignment across the codes and standards affecting the healthcare physical environment. Since the committee’s official founding in 2011, Paarlberg has been an instrumental force in driving this expansive effort, coordinating countless hours of work including tracking proposals, engaging stakeholders across various authorities having jurisdiction and providing technical oversight to the code development process. The committee’s work over the past 15 years, under Paarlberg’s continuous guidance, is estimated to have saved the healthcare field several millions of dollars in construction and operational costs by eliminating duplicative compliance measures while maintaining or enhancing patient safety. 

“Advocacy takes many forms. Sometimes it means preparing a testimony to debate a proposed change. Other times, it involves bringing together individuals with differing perspectives and working through those differences to find common ground,” says Beebe. “Kim has done both — time and time again — helping to build consensus and move this critical work forward. This is the kind of advocacy that often goes unseen, but it is essential to the success of the healthcare field — and it deserves recognition. It is an honor to present this award to Kim Paarlberg.”

New SASHE and FASHE members recognized

ASHE also celebrates members who attained Senior (SASHE) and Fellow (FASHE) status within the association this year at the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference.

The FASHE designation is bestowed upon those who have been ASHE members in good standing for at least 10 years and have contributed to the field through education, leadership and written contributions. The following members are new FASHE recipients: 

• Krista Biason, PE, FASHE, HGA Architects and Engineers, Maple Grove, Minn.
• Danielle Gathje, MBA, CHFM, FASHE, Fairview Health Services, Afton, Minn.
• Narsimha Irrinki, MS, PE, CHFM, CPE, CPD, CHC, FASHE, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, San Jose, Calif.
• Jeffrey O'Neill, AIA, ACHA, FASHE, RWJ Barnabas Health, New Brunswick, N.J.
• Jordan Plyler, MHA, FASHE, Baptist Health, Little Rock, Ark.

The SASHE designation is bestowed on those who have been ASHE members in good standing for at least five years and have supported ASHE in terms of education and leadership. The following members are new SASHE recipients: 

• Kara Brooks, LEED AP BD+C, SASHE, CommonSpirit Health, Denver, Co.
• Allison Ellis, PE, PMSFPE, SASHE, Koffel Compliance LLC, Columbia, Md.
• Robert Kirschner, CHFM, CHC, SASHE, Shore Medical Center, Somers Point, N.J.
• Scott Martin, CHFM, CHC, CHE, SASHE, Duke Health Engineering & Operations, Cary, N.C.
• Erica McAllister, MPH, CHFM, CHSP, CHEP, CLSS-HC, SASHE, Vizient, Herculaneum, Mo.
• Bradd Mertz, CHFM, CFPS, CPE, SASHE, Geisinger Health, Danville, Pa.
• Malcolm Sparling, CHC, SASHE, Specified Technologies Inc., Leawood, Kan.
• Darian Swiger, CHFM, CLSS-HC, CHCPEW, SASHE, WVU Medicine, Morgantown, W.Va.
• Allan Watkins, MIM, CHFM, RPA, SMA, SMT, SASHE, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Tx.

Emerging Regional Leader Awards recognize healthcare engineering, facilities management excellence

ASHE’s Emerging Regional Leader Awards recognize 10 individuals, one in each of ASHE’s 10 regions, for their contributions to the areas of healthcare engineering and facilities management; planning, design and construction; safety; clinical and biomedical engineering; and technical management. The following members are recognized as the recipients of this year’s Emerging Regional Leader Awards:

• Region 1: Kristina Manzano, Facilities Coordinator, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
• Region 2: James Barber, CHFM, CHEPP, CSAF, Director of Plant Operations and Construction, Virtua Health, Mount Holly, N.J.
• Region 3: Windy Blades, DHSc, MPH, HCC, CHOP-B, Project Manager – Planning and Engineering, Riverside Health, Newport News, Va.
• Region 4: Daniel Richards, CHFM, HFL, Facilities Project Manager, Tanner Health, Carrollton, Ga.
• Region 5: Greg Cole, CHFM, CHC, Senior Director, Facility Management, Corewell Health, Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Region 6: Morgan Weiss, CSP, Program Manager – Staff Safety, Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, Wisc. 
• Region 7: Delba Barrios, CHSP, CHCM, CEAS, Director of Facilities Engineering, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, Houston, Tx.
• Region 8: Steven Mangan, CHFM, CHC, SRMECH, Senior Manager, Facilities Maintenance & Operations, Mercy Hospital, Springfield, Mo.
• Region 9: Paul Manesse, CHFM, Director of Plant Operations and Facilities Management, Community Hospital of San Bernardino, CommonSpirit Health, San Bernadino, Calif.
• Region 10: Jacob Raleigh, Manager of Facilities, Kadlec Regional Medical Center, Richland, Wash.

For more information on ASHE’s awards, visit ashe.org/awards.