What to expect at the 2026 Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference

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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 Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis on Aug. 2-5.

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 and underscores ASHE’s mission to equip its members to meet the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapidly changing health care field.

The conference serves an array of health care physical environment professionals, including health care facilities managers, hospital and health system executive leaders, construction managers, safety professionals, technology and integration specialists, and facilities engineers at all career stages.

Keynote and general sessions

General sessions for the Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference include:

• “Welcome, Awards & Keynote — Making Better Decisions Faster: Overcoming Paralysis and Inspiring Action.” In this keynote, author and former NFL and NBA executive Paul Epstein reveals the streamlined three-step process he used to turn around major sports franchises: Avoid decision traps, move forward with clarity and confidence, and make the best out of “MVDs,” or most valuable decisions.
• “General Session — The Healthcare Cyber Threat Landscape: Risk, Impact and Preparedness, and the Race to AI.” Join the American Hospital Association’s (AHA’s) cybersecurity expert John Riggi, vice president and national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, as he provides his unique national and international perspective on the latest cyber threats.
• “General Session — Back to the Future: 2030 Health Care Edition.” In this look at the future, high-acuity hospitals still anchor care delivery, but their footprints have shrunk as emergency departments, operating rooms, intensive care units and other mission critical spaces take center stage. Meanwhile, Hospital-at-Home models have expanded care far beyond the traditional campus, creating a hybrid ecosystem that demands new tools, new strategies and new approaches to meet emerging challenges. This panel brings together experts from the AHA’s professional membership groups to explore how their respective fields are preparing for 2030.
• “General Session — Washington Update: What Happens in D.C. Matters to You.” Hear from AHA federal relations staff on national-level activities related to the political environment, legislation and AHA’s advocacy agenda. The speakers will walk through the current political environment and discuss the key bills and current legislative activity that will potentially impact hospitals in the short and long term. They also will discuss current AHA advocacy and outreach efforts.
• “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. Attendees are invited to ask questions about any of the codes and standards related to health care facilities.

Other sessions

Other noteworthy sessions include those on building a skilled health care facilities management workforce, right-sizing energy systems to reduce utility costs, technology innovations helping health care projects streamline their path to compliance, guidance on battery safety, the latest innovations in health care construction technologies and leadership strategies to reduce staff burnout.

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

The conference also brings more than 300 industry-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 premier 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.

Finally, attendees can enhance their experience with add-on pre- and post-conference events (see the sidebar below).

Learn, connect, grow

The Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference is designed to help professionals learn, connect and grow.

Pre- and post-conference events add value to experience

The American Society for Health Care Engineering’s (ASHE’s) Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference^® add-on events increase knowledge, networking opportunities and education credits. (Additional fees are required.)

Pre-conference programs

• “ASHE Chapter Leadership Forum.” The annual Chapter Leadership Forum will feature sessions to address branding an ASHE Chapter and succession and strategic planning to help pave the path forward for chapter growth.
• “Certified Health Care Facility Manager (CHFM) Exam Review Program.” Designed to provide a final check before taking the CHFM exam, this course will help attendees gain confidence in the five key competency areas of the CHFM exam.
• “Foundations of Health Care Facilities Management: Daily Operations.” Choose between two modules or take both for a comprehensive introduction to how facilities managers must be proficient across a set of core competencies.
• “Workplace Violence Prevention for Facility Managers, powered by IAHSS and ASHE.” The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety and ASHE have created a half-day program focused on effective workplace violence prevention.
• “Abbott Northwestern Hospital: Future-Ready Energy Systems for a Resilient Campus Tour.” Tour Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, which modernized its utility infrastructure to ensure long-term reliability, resiliency and capacity.
• “Excellence in Action Tour: Richard M. Schulze Surgical and Critical Care Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Allina Health.” Experience the future by touring Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s expanding campus and new care pavilion tower.
• “Emergency Preparedness Workshop: Strengthening Infrastructure Reliability and Response.” Participants will work through an infrastructure disruption, exploring practical strategies to anticipate risk, enhance interdepartmental coordination and strengthen operational readiness.

Post-conference programs

• “Energy to Care® Treasure Hunt.” The Energy to Care Treasure Hunt, an immersive, hands-on event hosted by ASHE, will be held at Allina Health Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minn.
• “Lunch and Learn with Joint Commission.” Attendees will learn tips for survey preparation and documentation, receive information regarding new or updated elements of performance and review the most common physical environment deficiencies.
• “Prompt to Policy: Real-World AI for Health Care Facility Leaders.” Participants will see live demonstrations showing how prompt design transforms artificial intelligence into a partner for developing plans, policies and plans of correction.
• “The Physical Environment Is More Than Life Safety Workshop.” This program will cover the risks in the physical health care environment, based on DNV Healthcare USA Inc. and International Organization for Standardization requirements.