Adventist Health Acquires Blue Zones as part of the Transition into a Catalyst for Community Wellness
Well-being must be a central priority of health care to improve and preserve the health of the country.
Adventist Health on 9th April 2020, announced the acquisition of Blue Zones ®, a leader in the creation of a comprehensive and sustainable approach to improve the health of cities and communities. The mission of the organization in more than 50 communities across America has been credited with double-digit declines in obesity, smoking, and body mass index, resulting in millions of dollars of savings in healthcare costs. This radical change of Adventist Health comes at a time when public attention is increasingly concentrated on the interconnectedness of our health with that of our friends and neighbors in the face of the Coronavirus epidemic.
Post-pandemic, an emphasis on enhancing and maintaining community and public health, will be more important than ever as communities around the nation and around the world pursue recovery.
According to Adventist Health CEO Scott Reiner, Adventist Health has always invested in building opportunities for belonging and easy access to healthier lifestyles, and we also know that the future of health care goes beyond the position of conventional hospitals by engaging in our neighborhoods to enhance people's overall well-being.
Adventist Health's partnership with Blue Zones reflects the future of healthcare. It is a core component of our mission to redefine the role of health organizations across America and reinforce our commitment to promoting wellness, dignity, and hope.
Blue Zones infuses healthier options, strengthens interactions, instills meaning, and hopes for the effect of neighborhoods where people stay, work, and play. This includes applying the Blue Zones Power9 ® longevity lessons into a systematic transformational change paradigm called the Life Radius ®, which focuses on individuals, places, and policies. Instead of focusing solely on individual behavioral improvement, Blue Zones focuses on optimizing conditions to promote safety by design.
During a time when America spends considerably more on health care than most nations without this spending translating into improved health outcomes, this form of the model will improve the health of people and communities and, in effect, make treatment more affordable. This transformational change is especially significant as our country continues to recover and find ways to improve the health of the community once the current Coronavirus epidemic is over.
Adventist Health's mission to enhance human well-being by engaging in safe societies is embedded in the seventh-day Adventist cultural heritage. Since its beginning in the 1840s, the seventh-day Adventist tradition has fostered a safe and well-being lifestyle. Such activities are intertwined with Adventist cultures around the world, including Loma Linda, California. The standard life expectancy in America is 78, but in Loma Linda, the average male is 89, and the female is 91. Dan Buettner listed Loma Linda, CA, as one of the five blue zone longevity hotspots in the 2005 National Geographic cover story.
