Kentucky Becomes Latest State to Achieve Full Participation in HHS Nutrition Education Initiative

LEXINGTON, K.Y. - AUGUST 5, 2026 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that Kentucky has become the latest state in the nation to achieve full participation in the Department's Nutrition Education Initiative. With new commitments from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Eastern Kentucky University's proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine, every medical school in the commonwealth has joined the initiative. Beginning this fall, each school will provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education - or a 40-hour competency equivalent - integrated throughout all four years of medical school. Eastern Kentucky University's proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine will implement this commitment once the program is established.

"We cannot solve America's chronic disease epidemic if doctors graduate without understanding how food shapes health," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "Kentucky's medical schools are changing that. By making nutrition a core part of medical education, they are preparing the next generation of physicians to prevent disease, treat its root causes, and help patients achieve lasting health."

Secretary Kennedy announced the commitments during a roundtable discussion with leaders at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, which became Kentucky's first participating medical school in March.

With Kentucky's commitments, 76 medical schools across 36 states have joined the Nutrition Education initiative. In addition, eight of the nation's leading accrediting, assessing, and medical organizations have committed to comprehensive reforms that will strengthen nutrition education throughout the medical education continuum.