Local business leaders take an active role to improve community’s health
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Forty-two businesses sign health improvement compact following Community Health Summit on May 10.
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Recent studies highlight the comparatively poor health of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and the need for immediate, long-range health initiatives.
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PENSACOLA, Fla. June 27, 2013 — Community, health and business leaders who attended a community health summit on May 10th are taking an active role in developing health improvement initiatives in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. By participating in community work groups, they will address three priority areas — obesity, tobacco use and health management — shown to have negatively impacted the overall health of the two counties.
“Community health initiatives like this one take a prevention-driven approach, developing solutions that promote healthy eating and active, smoke-free living,” said David Sjoberg, president of Partnership for a Healthy Community, the lead organization driving the initiative. “The response to the Community Health Summit last month shows that local businesses are ready to drive concrete changes. Forty-two organizations have signed on to actively participate and we believe more will join the effort over the next few weeks.”
As in other communities, poor health is costly to Escambia and Santa Rosa County residents, families and businesses—driving higher insurance costs, unnecessary emergency room visits and incidences of chronic illness. Any business in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties can join the Partnership. For more details, see www.pfahc.org.
Media Note: For more details, contact Caron Sjoberg at carons@ideaworksusa.com or Mark O’Brien at marko@ideaworksusa.com or call (850) 434-9095.
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PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES / ORGANIZATIONS — Compiled 6/21/13
Alpha Center, Inc.
Baptist Health Care
City of Gulf Breeze
City of Milton
Community Faith Nursing/SH
Council on Aging of West Florida
Covenant Hospice
Catholic Charities of NWF
ECUA
Early Learning Coalition
Escambia County School District
Escambia County Community Clinics, Inc.
Florida Black Chamber of Commerce
Florida Department of Health-Escambia County
Florida Department of Health-Santa Rosa County
Friendship Missionary Baptist
Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce
Gulf Power Co.
Hartnett Marketing Solutions
Health & Hope Clinic
Health First Network
Healthy Start Coalition of Santa Rosa County, Inc.
HSA Consulting Group, Inc.
Ideaworks, Inc.
Interfaith Ministries/Good Samaritan Clinic
Landrum Consulting
Metis Health, LLC
Marcus E. Paul, DMD Family and Cosmetic Dentistry
Pensacola State College
Pensacola Young Professionals
Pro Health/Pro Clinic
Robert Warren
Rural Health Network NWF
Sacred Heart Health System
Santa Rosa County School District
Santa Rosa Medical Center
United HealthCare
United Way of Escambia County
University of West Florida
Waterfront Rescue Mission
West Florida AHEC
YMCA of NWF
ABOUT PARTNERSHIP FOR A HEALTHY COMMUNITY, FLORIDA
The Partnership for a Healthy Community was founded in 1994 by Baptist Health Care Corporation and Sacred Heart Health System to address key health problems in greater Pensacola. The Partnership has sponsored comprehensive health status assessments for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2012. It also has sponsored community forums on key health issues, provided seed money to establish programs targeting those problems, and helped establish a pilot program at Escambia Community Clinics for more than 350 uninsured people with chronic conditions. Through this program, participants significantly reduced the number of times they were hospitalized or they visited emergency departments.
