Harrisburg, PA – With the addition of a dozen new participating hospitals, Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen today recognized the continued growth of the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals program which encourages and supports nutritious food and beverage habits by transforming hospital food environments.
Sixty-three hospitals from 11 health systems currently participate in the innovative nutrition initiative. Over the past year alone, 12 new hospitals signed the pledge to join, including:
- Southwestern: Frick, Latrobe, and Westmoreland Hospitals (Independence Health System)
- Southcentral: Lancaster General, Suburban Pavilion Outpatient, and Women and Babies Hospitals (Penn Medicine Health System)
- Southeastern: Abington, Bucks County, Einstein Montgomery, Frankford, Lansdale, and Torresdale Hospitals (Jefferson University Health System)
Secretary Bogen joined leadership from The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) to recognize the participating hospitals and to commend their achievements over the past year.
“The Department of Health is proud of the steady growth and success of the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals program. Thank you to all the health care systems that have embraced this program and developed innovative ways to make their facilities healthier for the community, patients, visitors, and staff,” said Secretary Bogen. “Access to nutritious, healthy, local foods is important for healing and preventing illness. This initiative touches the lives of people across the Commonwealth as the resulting healthy choices echo through families and communities.”
Established in the Philadelphia area in 2014 by PDPH, the Pennsylvania Department of Health began collaborating with Good Food, Healthy Hospitals in 2018, with HAP joining the project three years later as an additional implementation partner.
The initiative has since expanded statewide, increasing nutritious food and beverage offerings to employees, patients, and visitors at hospitals in 27 counties. From July 2023 to June 2024, it is estimated that more than 34,000 hospital staff and 700,000 patients had access to the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals program.
“Hospitals do much more than care for people when they’re sick or injured. By providing access to and education about nutritious food, care teams help patients build healthy habits to improve their lives,” HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings said. “HAP is proud to help expand the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals program throughout the Commonwealth.”
Participating health systems receive technical assistance from the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals team to help with initial implementation of the food service guidelines, and annual reassessments to measure progress and set goals for continued adoption of nutritious offerings and practices. The standards of the program include:
· Prominently displaying nutrition information of foods and beverages;
· Promoting water as a healthy and necessary beverage choice;
· Placing healthier beverages and snacks at eye level; and
· Purchasing locally sourced and sustainably produced foods where possible
Health care facilities participating in Good Food, Healthy Hospitals pledge to voluntarily adopt food, beverage, and procurement standards in areas of the hospital where food is sold or served, including cafeterias, patient meals, catering, and vending.
“Collaboration between hospitals, health systems, and public health continues to be an indispensable partnership necessary for promoting and protecting the health and well-being of our Commonwealth,” said Interim Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Frank Franklin. “The Good Food, Healthy Hospitals initiative is an outstanding example of a partnership that goes beyond treatment by ensuring a nutritious food environment for the workforce, visitors, and patient populations.”
Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes the continued expansion of the Good Food, Healthy Hospitals initiative possible.
For additional information about Good Food, Healthy Hospitals, please visit www.foodfitphilly.org/gfhh or https://www.haponline.org/Public-Health/Nurturing-Health-Communities/Good-Food-Healthy-Hospitals.
Further information on healthy eating can be found on the Department of Health’s website.
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