Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference preview

Columbus, Ohio, is home to July’s conference and exhibition.

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The American Society for Health Care Engineering’s (ASHE’s) Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference™ will attract more than 3,000 health care facilities management professionals to the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, from July 27-30.

The Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference (formerly the ASHE Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition) has served as the leading conference for professionals in the health care facilities field for more than six decades. Now in its second year under the new moniker, the rebranded conference reflects ASHE’s commitment to equipping its members to meet the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapidly changing health care field.

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Register for the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference™

The conference serves an array of health care physical environment professionals, including health care facilities managers, hospital and health system executive leaders, construction managers, infection preventionists, safety professionals and technicians at all career stages.

Tailored conference tracks at four knowledge levels align with different career stages, from foundational to strategic, empowering attendees to choose a personalized conference experience while earning continuing education credits toward Certified Health Care Facility Manager and other industry-standard certifications.

The Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference also brings together more than 300 leading solutions providers to demonstrate the impact of technology in advancing innovation in the health care facilities field. The event’s technical exhibition features dynamic, interactive demonstrations from vendors and business partners servicing the areas of fire protection; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; power and electrical equipment; health care lighting, furnishings and flooring; building automation; safety and security; and many others (visit the July/August 2025 digital edition to see sponsored products and the exhibitor listing).

Keynote and general sessions

In addition to a wide range of concurrent technical sessions and active pre- and post-conference programs (see sidebar below), the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference will feature engaging keynote and general sessions, including:

• Welcome and keynote session — “Unleash Your Curiosity.” Based on her book, The Curiosity Muscle, Diana Kander’s high-energy keynote shows how attendees can level up the simple questions they ask themselves daily to get significantly better results and drive innovation. Kander will help participants understand that the longer they’ve been doing something, the more likely their expertise has created some blind spots that could be huge opportunities for growth. She’ll demonstrate how professionals struggle with additive bias or look to add more things to their plate to solve a problem, when taking something away would be a better solution. And she’ll help attendees understand how the desire to be right gets in the way of improvement.
• General session — “The Time Has Come: Moving the Needle in Asset Management.” In the dynamic health care environment, ensuring the reliability of operations is paramount for any organization. This session will focus on the best strategies to manage assets and how professionals have the responsibility to shift their practices to methods that ensure business continuity and improve the financial bottom line for the next generation of facilities managers.
• Keynote session — “Supersonic Success.” Combat-decorated fighter pilot Jack Becker equips attendees and their teams with the precise protocols that enable elite military aviators to optimize performance and execute under pressure while continually accelerating improvement. Becker’s process creates a psychologically safe environment where people can speak openly, share strengths and weaknesses without fear, enjoy high emotional quotient and vulnerability as a team, and know their inputs truly matter.
• General session — “Communicating Facilities as a Value Driver to Executive Leadership.” Communicating the value of health care facilities operations in a way that resonates with executive leadership is crucial for driving smart investments in operational optimization. Join this panel discussion featuring a diverse range of executive management representatives as they share insights into their decision-making processes in today’s marketplace. Facilities leaders will gain valuable perspectives to proactively align their efforts with these organizational priorities.
• General session — “Just Ask ASHE.” In this session, ASHE’s codes and standards experts will discuss emerging codes and standards issues facing health care facilities and offer answers to specific questions.

Learn more

The Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference is designed to help health care facilities professionals learn, connect and grow. For more on this event, check out ASHE's website. 

Related article // Add-on events bring more to the conference experience

The American Society for Health Care Engineering’s (ASHE’s) Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference^TM pre- and post-conference add-on events will increase conference takeaway value with priceless knowledge, networking opportunities and education credits.

Pre-conference programs

• “ASHE Chapter Leadership Forum.” This event includes sessions on chapter branding as well as succession and strategic planning for chapter growth. Chapter members will engage fellow members in dialogue about chapter challenges and refine their leadership skills. Additional fee required.
• “Certified Health Care Facility Manager (CHFM) Exam Review Program.” Designed to give professionals an edge in preparation for the CHFM Exam, this in-person course will help attendees gain confidence in the five key competency areas of the CHFM test. Additional fee required.
• “Foundations of Health Care Facilities Management: Daily Operations.” Health care facilities managers play a vital role in maintaining a safe, comfortable and compliant healing environment. To do so, they need to be well versed in a range of skills amid an ever-changing landscape. Additional fee required.
• “Workplace Violence Prevention for Facility Managers, powered by IAHSS and ASHE.” The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety and ASHE have created a new, first-of-its-kind program focused on effective workplace violence prevention programs. Additional fee required.
• “Newcomers Orientation.” Join the co-chairs of the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference planning committee to learn how to make the most of the conference experience. Meet members of ASHE’s Advisory Board and staff and learn how to become involved in ASHE.

Post-conference programs

• “AI in Action: Transforming Compliance and Facilities Management with ChatGPT.” In this session, discover how ChatGPT can streamline compliance, administrative tasks and document analysis, making these challenges more manageable.
• “DNV’s Physical Environment Operations Professional Quality Workshop.” Attendees will learn how applying the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 9001 quality management systems requirements to physical environment operations can enhance an organization’s ability to consistently provide results that meet regulatory requirements and optimize performance.
• “Lunch and Learn with The Joint Commission.” During this exclusive and limited capacity event, attendees will learn tips for survey preparation and documentation, information regarding new or updated elements of performance and review the most common physical environment deficiencies that surveyors are seeing.