Blue Zones to conduct a countywide assessment and build a plan to help all residents live better, longer

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C., Sept. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Atrium Health and Cabarrus Health Alliance have engaged Blue Zones, the global leader in longevity research and community well-being transformation, to launch Blue Zones Ignite in Cabarrus County. The effort begins with an in-depth readiness and feasibility assessment of the region that will help determine how to make it a healthier place to live, work, grow up, and grow older.

Blue Zones uses an evidence-based, environmental approach to making healthy choices easier in the places and spaces where people spend the most time. Blue Zones will work with Atrium Health Cabarrus, Cabarrus Health Alliance, and other community leaders to conduct a local assessment to determine how to make it a healthier place to live, work, and thrive. Together with the community, the Blue Zones team will assess readiness and build a plan for change.

"We have been on a journey to support age-friendly care in our community," said Asha Rodiguez, vice president and facility executive of Atrium Health Cabarrus. "We look forward to reviewing the results of the assessment and the plan Blue Zones proposes to explore ways Atrium Health and our whole community can improve the well-being of our Cabarrus County patients and families."

Erin Shoe, public health director shared, "Cabarrus Health Alliance is ecstatic to work alongside the teams from Blue Zones and Atrium Health Cabarrus on this transformative opportunity. We want residents from birth to the golden ages to experience a happy and fulfilling life in a community where making healthy choices becomes the easy choice."

The Blue Zones Approach

Blue Zones employs a proven solution in collaboration with communities to help people live better and longer lives. The company's work is based on research and principles developed by National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner, who identified the cultures of the world – or blue zones – with the healthiest, longest-living populations.

The Blue Zones approach focuses on the single largest determinant of health: the place we live. Instead of focusing solely on individual behavior change, Blue Zones helps communities make permanent and semi-permanent changes to policies, systems, streets, surroundings, and social networks so it's easier for residents to eat wisely, move naturally, and connect more with others as they move throughout their day. By improving the Life Radius—the area close to home where most Americans spend 90% of their lives—Blue Zones transformations have been able to move the needle dramatically in improving overall population health and well-being. Participating communities have seen double-digit drops in obesity and smoking rates, economic investment in downtown corridors, grant funding awards to support policies and programs to improve health equity, and measurable savings in healthcare costs.

Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones and Co-founder of Blue Zones Project, said: "We are excited to launch Blue Zones Ignite in Cabarrus County with Atrium Health and Cabarrus Health Alliance. By applying the time-tested principles of Blue Zones, we help communities create supportive environments where healthy living is the norm. This leads to healthier and happier residents, employees, and students, which also leads to a more vibrant economy. We are excited to collaborate to create a transformation plan that will generate lasting positive change for everyone."

The Blue Zones expert team will connect with Cabarrus County leaders and organizations to begin immediate work assessing the strengths, needs, and challenges that residents are facing today. Blue Zones will then create a policy-focused transformation plan that, once implemented, can drive widespread improvements in well-being, reductions in healthcare costs, and improve economic vitality in the region.

About Blue Zones
Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live better, longer. The company's work is rooted in explorations and research done by founder and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner in blue zones regions around the world, where people live extraordinarily long and/or happy lives. The original research and findings were released in Buettner's bestselling books The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones of Happiness, The Blue Zones, Thrive, Blue Zones Kitchen, Blue Zones Challenge, and Blue Zones American Kitchen—all published by National Geographic books. An Emmy Award-winning docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, was released on Netflix in 2023. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones works with cities and counties to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to our human-made surroundings. Participating communities have experienced double-digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs. For more information, visit bluezones.com.

About Atrium Health

Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing nearly $3 billion in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits in 2023.

About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.

About Cabarrus Health Alliance

Cabarrus Health Alliance is the public health authority of Cabarrus County. Cabarrus Health Alliance is an autonomous organization providing services and programs to meet public health needs. Cabarrus Health Alliance is a leader in public health and is nationally recognized for its innovation.

Contacts:

Naomi Imatome-Yun
Blue Zones
[email protected]

SOURCE Blue Zones