At St. Luke’s Health Initiatives we know that health is much more than health care.
In fact, health is created everywhere we live, work, learn and play. The ways in which we go about our days are greatly influenced by our surroundings – often called the built environment. The design and construction of buildings, neighborhoods, homes, streets and cities all have some measure of health impact.
It’s true that obesity and its associated chronic conditions are creating a health care crisis. It is also true that obesity’s root causes and solutions lie outside of the health care system and extend beyond individual choice. Hidden in plain sight, the built environment simultaneously presents and prevents options that affect health.
That’s why SLHI contributed to numerous community events this year that brought together committed and innovative leaders to think about what it means to reinvent health.
Go Green Conference
In December 2013, GoGreen Phoenix included over 250 attendees and 50 speakers, among them business leaders and pioneering thinkers from regional government, nonprofits, and development firms. A diverse array of voices from fields such as software, sports, small-scale manufacturing, and the food and beverage industry contributed. Attendees discussed new ideas and tackled the big issues facing sustainability, and SLHI joined with key partners like the Mayo Clinic to discuss the intersection of sustainability and health.
The Arizona Healthy Communities Conference
In March 2014, The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and an Arizona-based Planning Committee hosted this network building and strategic engagement event for nearly 300 planning and health professionals, affordable housing developers, nonprofits, banks, government and elected officials from across the state. National keynote speakers presented seamlessly with a diverse group of in-state panels on the importance of an integrated approach to improving health aspects of the built environment. Participants discussed how to develop healthy communities through policy and connect structural change with healthy living. In addition to playing a key role on the Planning Committee, SLHI partners and staff were key conference players.
Arizona Forward’s Stewardship Summit
Arizona Forward’s Stewardship Summit was held in June of 2014, with strong planning and participation from SLHI staff and leadership. Keynote speaker Dr. Richard Jackson used insights from his book and PBS series “Designing Healthy Communities” to discuss how and why health should be a focal point of community design. The Blue Zones’ Amy Tomczyk shared how critical healthy choices have always been, demonstrating the “Power 9” for healthy living, and how Blue Zones staff is engaged in creating healthier community design across the U.S. SLHI CEO Suzanne Pfister joined with SLHI partner Shannon Scutari of the Sustainable Communities Collaborative to bring these concepts into an Arizona context, looking at what’s needed to make progress and what attendees could do right away to begin making healthier community changes.
Into the New Year
The work of such gatherings is only as worthy as what comes from them. Throughout the remainder of Fiscal Year 2014, SLHI has been deeply engaged with the leadership of several groups. Connect with these groups as the work of building healthier communities continues:
- The Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities – Created through the combination of two longstanding organizations, the new Arizona Alliance for Livable Communities is built on a strong history of professional engagement. Planners, epidemiologists and Public Health professionals are among the members providing insights and advocacy for healthier communities through focus on the built environment. The Alliance has played key roles in General Plan advocacy and in training for and implementation of Health Impact Assessments statewide.
- The Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities – The March 2014 conference noted above was the trigger for creation of The Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities. The group is intentionally established as a partnership framework bringing together health, health care, banks, housing and food. At the outset, the partnership is focused on connecting sectors, building capacity and developing new sources of capital for improving health in the built environment.
- Arizona Forward’s Healthy Communities Committee – Following June’s success, Arizona Forward is planning a multi-year commitment to creating healthy communities, including connection with Arizona Forward’s other standing committees such as Land Use and Transportation.