Blue Zones Project Invites Monterey County Residents to Participate in Community Well-Being Assessment
MONTEREY COUNTY, CA — May 5, 2021; 11am (PST) — Are you as young (or as old) as you feel? Blue Zones Project Monterey County, in partnership with Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Taylor Farms, and Montage Health, invites community members across the Monterey County region to find out their “Real Age” by taking the RealAge Test. It is free and open to the public, and available for participation beginning May 5 by visiting https://bzpmontereycounty.sharecare.com.
Taken by more than 45 million people to date, the scientifically based survey shows you the true age of the body you are living in compared to your biological age - the first step toward improving overall health and well-being. To get started, RealAge test offers over 100 questions based on well-being factors such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, existing medical conditions, and stress that can contribute to a person’s longevity. After completing the assessment, RealAge provides an immediate estimate of the body’s age and offers helpful tools on how to implement positive changes that benefit both the individual, and community. The comprehensive health risk assessment was developed by Sharecare and has been clinically validated to be more predictive of mortality than the Framingham Heart Study and chronological age.
“According to my ‘RealAge’ results, I am actually 2 years and 10 months less than my calendar age, and I’m getting younger by the day!” said Tanja Roos, Community Program Manager with the Blue Zones Project Monterey County team. “Join us starting in early May to discover your RealAge and play a part in our community’s journey to greater health and vitality. The test is free and will also give you actionable insights to support your own personal well-being, so you can start aging in reverse too! The information collected will help us better understand how we can improve our communities well-being over time.”
Data collected from the survey is confidential and HIPAA compliant. Individual level data stays private to the individual who completes the assessment. Only aggregate community data will be collected by the Blue Zones Project team. This information will be used to determine a baseline assessment for Monterey County that will influence future well-being programming for the community at-large as well as the Blue Zones Project initiative. Insights will also be benchmarked against results from Sharecare’s Community Well-Being Index® to understand how Monterey County’s well-being compares with communities around the country.
This survey will be implemented regularly throughout the lifespan of the Blue Zones Project in Monterey County, and help shape the understandings of the community’s collective well-being for years to come.
CONTACT: Christina V. Ferrante • 831-747-4114 • Christina.Ferrante@sharecare.com
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About Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System
Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS) is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the region through an integrated network of health care initiatives, services and facilities. In addition to an acute care, public district hospital licensed for 263 beds, the system includes Salinas Valley Medical Clinic, a multi-location clinic expanding access to primary and specialty care, and offers 13 urgent care locations. SVMHS is one of the area’s largest employers with a staff of more than 2000, and is a leader in providing nationally recognized quality care. Collaboration is an important operating principle for SVMHS in such key areas as our Level III NICU which is operated in a joint venture with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford; The Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes, partnership with UCSF; Aspire Health Plan, Monterey County’s only Medicare Advantage program; Community Health Innovations and Blue Zones Project Monterey County, building a community where people live longer and live healthier. For more information, visit www.svmh.com.
About Montage Health
Montage Health is the local, nonprofit parent company of a family of organizations dedicated to improving lives by delivering exceptional care and inspiring the pursuit of optimal health. Through its subsidiaries and its partnerships with doctors and other clinicians, healthcare and community organizations, and, most importantly community members, Montage Health is dedicated to care that is coordinated across all care settings to meet each person’s goals and needs. Montage Health companies include Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Montage Medical Group, Montage Health Foundation, Montage Wellness Center, Aspire Health, and MoGo Urgent Care. For more information, visit www.montagehealth.org.
About Taylor Farms
Taylor Farms is a leading North American producer of salads and healthy fresh foods. Taylor Farms is grounded in a commitment to quality, innovation, sustainability and food safety. Taylor Farms is family owned and based in “The Salad Bowl of the World” Salinas, California. For more information, visit www.taylorfarms.com.
About Blue Zones Project® by Sharecare
Blue Zones Project® by Sharecare is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city's environment, policy, and social networks. Established in 2010, Blue Zones Project is based on research by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author who identified five cultures of the world—or blue zones —with the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. Blue Zones Project incorporates Buettner's findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs that will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. Currently, 57 communities across North America have joined Blue Zones Project, impacting more than 3.8 million citizens. The population health solution includes two Health Districts in California; 15 cities in Iowa; Albert Lea, Minnesota; the city of Fort Worth, Texas; Corry, Pennsylvania; Airdrie, Alberta; Brevard, North Carolina; the Walla Walla Valley in Washington; and communities in Southwest Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Blue Zones Project is a partnership between Blue Zones, LLC, and Sharecare, Inc. For more information, visit www.bluezonesproject.com.
To learn more about Blue Zones Project, contact the Blue Zones Project team in Monterey County at (831) 512-1165 or visit https://montereycounty.bluezonesproject.com.