FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2026

ASHE celebrates extraordinary innovation and collaboration  in health care design and construction with 2026 Vista Awards
 

CHICAGO — The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) has announced the winners of the 2026 Vista Awards, which recognize outstanding innovation and collaboration in the health care design and construction field. The Vista Awards are presented annually by ASHE, a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association (AHA), to project teams that work together to develop and maintain exceptional health care environments while demonstrating effective communication and relying on data-based decision-making processes.

This year, ASHE congratulates the project teams behind:

• The electrical consolidation and cogeneration plant project at Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center, in Morristown, N.J., which won the 2026 Vista Award for Infrastructure.
• UAB Medical West Hospital campus, in Bessemer, Ala., which earned the 2026 Vista Award for New Construction.

After enduring several power outages due to storms and downed power lines, Morristown Medical Center (MMC) recognized a need to fortify its electrical infrastructure to ensure continuity of service, especially during adverse weather conditions. The project team contracted BC Energy (formerly Cogen Power Technologies) to overhaul the hospital’s power supply infrastructure, rerouting and consolidating main electrical service from the power grid and upgrading outdated electrical equipment and wiring across the facility.

In addition, the team built an onsite cogeneration plant that also provides thermal energy for heating and sterilizing. The plant is controlled by a load management system that regulates supply from utility feeder circuits, or can disconnect completely from the grid and route all of the campus’ power from the plant in the event of a utility outage. The cogeneration plant now produces more than 70% of MMC’s total electricity needs and has saved the hospital more than $3.8 million in annual utility costs.

“The client faced enormous challenges, and the amount of coordination required to pull off this project without any major disruptions was very impressive,” says Kurt Spiering, FAIA, ACHA, EDAC, director of strategic innovation for health care at Flad Architects and a member of the Vista Awards Task Force. “It was clear that the team placed an emphasis on communication in working with the contractors, the clinical staff and hospital administration to coordinate critical steps in the process.”

Planned as a replacement of a 60-year-old facility, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s new Medical West Hospital was designed to meet the unique and diverse needs of a rapidly growing rural area. Flexibility and ease of access were key to the design; the final layout features clustered imaging, rehab and specialty clinics to move patients smoothly between care areas, while universal exam, patient, operating and imaging rooms enable spaces to adapt between service lines.

The project team, including lead architect HKS, Inc., deployed Lean design methods, “just‑in‑time” procurement and prefabrication to keep the project on time and under budget — even in the face of supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and other significant obstacles. Since the new facility opened in 2024, Medical West Hospital’s utility costs are down 30% and post-occupancy surveys have delivered high marks on general staff experience, wayfinding and general aesthetics.

“The architect did a masterful job of creating a beautiful yet highly functional building as the team used proven and innovative delivery methods to meet the unique challenges of the project head-on to create the highest value for the client,” notes Spiering. “It was evident from the submittal that this was a total team effort.”

The 2026 Vista Award winners will be recognized at the International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction™ (PDC Summit™), taking place March 8-11 in Houston. The PDC Summit™ brings together thousands of health care planning, design and construction professionals annually to learn, network and share solutions with the goal of maximizing safety, health and operational outcomes in healing environments.

This year’s PDC Summit™ sessions include a keynote by strategist and psychology of influence expert Rory Vaden and a conversation with The Center for Health Design’s 2026 Changemaker Award winner, in addition to a full slate of interactive sessions and peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing forums. The conference is also a hub for technological innovation in the health care design and construction field, anchored by an exhibition featuring hands-on demonstrations from cutting-edge solutions providers.

ASHE’s Vista Awards recognize significant collaboration in creating optimal health care environments. The winning teams have exemplified outstanding teamwork in all stages of their health care project, from preplanning to ribbon cutting.

For more information about the Vista Awards, visit ashe.org/awards/vista.