MMC-BD NEWS

Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Inc. (BDCH) and Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) have announced the extension of the Blue Zones Project® in Dodge County for two more years, through August 2021. BDCH brought the nationwide well-being improvement initiative to Beaver Dam, Juneau, Horicon and Mayville in 2016 and look forward to expanding throughout the county in the coming years.

“Our integration with Marshfield Clinic Health System has only strengthened our unwavering commitment to the improved health and well-being of our region,” said Linda Klinger, BDCH Director of Community Health. “We have already seen incredible success in the first three years and eagerly anticipate the progress we’ll achieve together.”

Nearly 80 local policies and ordinances addressing tobacco, alcohol, food and built environments have been enacted, and many of the more than 600 evidence-based interventions, nudges and best practices have been incorporated locally. These include walking moais, cooking demonstrations and walking school buses. Across the community, data shows that daily worry and stress are down and that people are moving more and eating better. Organizations have also reported reductions in employee turnover and improvements in employee health and productivity.

Within the last year, John Deere Horicon Works has seen a 17% increase in their onsite biometrics participation with results trending positive for the top three health risk factors: 2% reduction in blood pressure, 8% reduction in glucose levels and a 6% reduction in body mass index. At BDCH, employees have achieved a 5.2% decrease in overall body mass index and improvements in overall blood pressure readings. And both organizations say healthy food purchases have significantly increased as more nutritious options are offered.

They are not the only ones benefitting. Through hard work by the local Blue Zones Project team, community stakeholders, and hundreds of volunteers, the initiative has helped optimize environments where people work, play, shop, eat, and attend school, making the healthy choice the easy choice for an increasing number of Dodge County residents. So far, Blue Zones Project has approved 18 worksites, 11 schools, eight restaurants, six faith-based organizations, and two grocery stores. For some organizations, this has resulted in economic growth as well. For example, several schools began implementing non-food fundraisers and have seen earnings increase by as much as 300-400%.

The local results are getting statewide and national recognition. Last year, Beaver Dam, Horicon and Juneau were among 31 Wisconsin communities to be recognized as the first Wisconsin Healthy Communities Designation for working to improve the health of people in their communities. And just last week BDCH and Blue Zones Project- Dodge County were recognized at the 2019 Connectivity Summit on Rural Aging in Nashville for being among the 20 stories recognized in the recently released publication “Aging Well in Rural America.” The publication shares stories of innovative ways organizations are working to promote healthier living and greater social connectedness among older Americans and creating partnerships to address social determinants of health. 

Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones and Co-founder of Blue Zones Project, agrees.

"We celebrate the community's impressive successes already, and we commend BDCH and MCHS leaders in making a long-term investment into the health and well-being of the people of Dodge County,” he said. “It takes visionary health care leaders to recognize that these lasting changes result in reduced health care costs, improved business productivity, and happier residents for generations to come."

In the next several months, Blue Zones Project headquarters will move from its current downtown Beaver Dam location and into BDCH office space in its Warren Street building. Blue Zones Project will work collaboratively with the BDCH and MCHS staff to enhance the ongoing population health efforts in Dodge County.

National Geographic Fellow and best-selling author Dan Buettner founded Blue Zones Project based on his research into “Blue Zones^®,” regions where people are most likely to reach age 100 and beyond. They are Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Okinawa, Japan; and Sardinia, Italy.

For more information on Blue Zones Project in Dodge County, visit https://dodgecounty.bluezonesproject.com/.