Adventist Health launches breakthrough move to promote community well-being

Spectrum Website
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Adventist Health today announced the launch of its Well-Being Division, solidifying its commitment to lead a 21st century well-being transformation movement. With this far-reaching change, Adventist Health is further demonstrating its commitment to inspire health, wholeness and hope within the communities it serves.

In keeping with its goals, Adventist Health acquired Blue Zones® in early 2020, marking the first step in the creation of its Well-Being Division, and appointed Ben Leedle, Blue Zones CEO, as division president. This month, the organizations began their first partnership Blue Zones Project, a transformational community-led well-being initiative, in Walla Walla, Washington.

“Adventist Health’s launch of the Well-Being Division is an important part of our 10-year transformation strategy to move from a healthcare company to a health company,” Adventist Health CEO Scott Reiner said. “Our mission to live God’s love calls us to care for communities in ways that measurably and sustainably improve well-being.”

This move marks Adventist Health’s commitment from delivering care to improving well-being and quality of life for entire communities, which in turn improves health outcomes for individuals. It comes at a critical time during the COVID-19 pandemic and is essential to help communities and individuals recover and build long-term resiliency.

The Well-Being Division will identify and impact root causes of well-being. Collectively, it will address needs related to individuals, communities and organizations, and will impact all dimensions of well-being. That will include health, sense of purpose, security and prosperity in order to deliver results through direct interventions and by fostering change to human-made surroundings. This model is designed to improve the health of individuals and communities, and in turn, lower overall healthcare costs.

“I was drawn to Adventist Health’s bold vision to reimagine the future of healthcare, and I am thrilled to be a part of Adventist Health,” Leedle said. “I look forward to championing this vision and working together to further strengthen communities and empower individuals to lead healthier lives. Never before in our lifetimes has there been a greater focus on the behaviors that keep us well. Our faith-based company is poised to elevate this conversation and lead our industry.”

Adventist Health’s strategic vision to improve individual, organizational and community well-being is rooted in the Seventh-day Adventist cultural heritage. Since its inception in the 1840s, the Seventh-day Adventist tradition has encouraged a lifestyle of health and wellness. Additionally, Adventist Health recently acquired Blue Zones®, whose proven, research-based solution improves community well-being by design. The Blue Zones model lifts well-being at the population level by making healthy choices easier in all the places people live, work, learn, pray and play. Working with Blue Zones, the Well-Being Division will empower everyone, everywhere to live longer, better lives.

The work of Blue Zones in more than 50 communities across the United States has been credited with double-digit drops in well-being risk factors such as obesity and smoking, transforming lives and achieving millions of dollars of savings in healthcare costs.

 

Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of 36,000 includes associates, medical staff physicians, allied health professionals and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God's love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Together, we are transforming the American healthcare experience with an innovative, yet timeless, whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing.

About Blue Zones®

Blue Zones uses evidence-based ways to help people live longer, better lives. The company’s work is based on explorations and research done by founder and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner, who identified the 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, and Blue Zones Kitchen—all published by National Geographic books. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones Project® works with cities and counties to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to the community’s environment, policy, and social networks. Participating communities have experienced double digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs. Blue Zones was acquired by Adventist Health in 2020. For more information, visit bluezones.com.

 

This article originally appeared on the Adventist Health website.

Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash.

 

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://spectrummagazine.org/node/10816
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This is a good move for Adventist health.

Yet as of this week nothing as changed. I had a physician appointment in an Adventist Health Clinic as a new patient. There was no questions about my diet, such as the amount of fruit and vegetables one eats, my exercise routine, spiritual, social or mental health other than the simple question, are you ever depressed? There was no disclosure on BMI or questions about nightly sleep hours. There was no record taken or questions as to supplements or vitamins taken. Just the standard questions such as do you smoke or frequently consume alcohol? The Blue Zone approach was not present at the patient or attending physician level. Even though I asked.

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Oh my… Frank, based on the service you described, are you sure you were in a Physician’s office and not at a Vet’s place instead? :innocent: :innocent:

If on arrival you saw this guy leaving, you should have left asap:

cat-47896__340

:rofl:

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Lol, you know I never thought about it. My vet always asks me about the diet of my pets. My docs never ask me about mine. Maybe I should just go to my vet instead. :rofl:

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Careful, it’s contagious. Last time I took our small Chihuahua “Fifi” to the vet, I came back barking. Now I send my wife instead, though I may have already developed antibodies… :roll_eyes:

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Too late. My vet just prescribed me a very healthy mix that’s good for my fu…hair .

Squirrel…

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Those information are relegated to the office staff. The exposure to the physician is limited according to the CPT that has been authorized. In general a medical follow-up visit reimbursement is up to 15 minutes and not less than 1/2 of the 15 minutes plus one minute. Anything more than this time is not reimbursed by MC. The point is to maximize the physicians time.

Check this out…

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Sure I understand the face time with a physician is limited. It was the staff that took my BP that asked me a set of questions. None of which even closely resembled “Blue Zones” health aspects. I wonder if the “Blue Zones” will be used more for PR rather then therapeutically. I also wonder how much they paid for the use of the “Blue Zones” logo?

PS: I asked my attending physician if he liked working for Adventist Health. He was positive except he was very dissatisfied with Adventist Health Palliative Care services. He said the Advent Health did not like Palliative Care due to the limited remuneration they received.

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Just make sure you do not mention any names. Your physician could find himself in hot water. :rofl:

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I have Kaiser for many years, and for the past 5 years I have Medicare Advantage, also with Kaiser. Couldn’t be better. All services at one same place.
The only disadvantage is that the hospital is too close to home and the walking experience is too short: only 2 blocks!
:innocent: :laughing:

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Ah, but does your PCP pray for you as the Adventist physicians do for their patients? :wink:

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LOL…
Between “Thoughts & Prayers,” I am sure he does well with the “thoughts.”
Which is enough for me… since I have had a pretty good health care.
:wink:

PS. Judge GARLAND says “HI” …

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Recently I unexpectedly found myself going to the Emergency Department of a large, prominent Adventist medical center. I was soon admitted and within 5 hours I’d had surgery and then spent two days in ICU. I received excellent professional care. However, not once did anyone pray with / for me. I wasn’t asked if I wanted to see a chaplain. None of the multiple physicians who cared for me were SDA (most are not even Christians). The diet was not vegetarian (unless I asked for it). And I left wondering exactly why the church needs such institutions.

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