Naples, Fla.-based NCH Healthcare and Franklin, Tenn.-based Healthways, a health services vendor, are working to improve the health and well-being of residents in Southwest Florida via the Blue Zones Project.
Here are three things to know about the initiative.
1. Thirteen communities nationwide have implemented Blue Zones Project initiatives. The community-by-community movement focuses on implementing environmental and policy changes in local communities to improve population health.
2. NCH Healthcare President and CEO Allen Weiss, MD, introduced efforts to achieve Blue Zones recognition in 2015, according to Naples Daily News. In May 2017, NCH became the first employer in Florida and the first health system in the nation to achieve a Blue Zones Project worksite designation.
3. NCH relies on the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index to assess the initiative's progress. In 2017, the well-being index for Southwest Florida increased to 69.2, up from 68.6 in 2015.