(Oct. 9, 2026) – The American Hospital Association is hosting a webinar at noon on Oct. 14 during which representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will discuss the voluntary Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge and how hospitals can participate. You can register here for the webinar. Among other items, the pledge asks hospitals to align patient food services with the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans; ensure inpatient meals meet individual nutritional needs and support healing, recovery and long-term health; and provide accessible nutrition resources and education as part of discharge planning to help patients sustain healthy habits. During the webinar, HHS and CMS officials will provide an overview of the pledge, address frequently asked questions and share promising practices from hospitals working to create healthier food environments for patients, employees and visitors. The webinar will also include time for hospital leaders to ask questions about the pledge. KHA staff are monitoring HHS and CMS activities related to the pledge and will keep our members informed as we learn more its implications.
While HHS launched the pledge in April 2026, KHA and member hospitals have focused on healthier food and beverages in hospitals for more than a decade. Through the Healthy Kansas Hospitals initiative, more than 80 Kansas hospitals signed a pledge to improve the healthfulness of food and beverages in their facilities. We are proud of the work of KHA member hospitals, which continues today and has expanded over time to include healthy food access in communities and Food is Medicine, among other community health initiatives. KHA continues to host quarterly Healthy Kansas Hospitals networking roundtables for members, with the most recent roundtable in September focusing on wearables. We will keep members posted on upcoming Healthy Kansas Hospitals roundtables.
--Karen Braman