MMC-BD NEWS

After a five-year partnership with Blue Zones Project®, Marshfield Medical Center-Beaver Dam (MMC-BD) is announcing it will be entering a new phase in its community well-being efforts beginning Sept. 1, 2021.

Once the current contract for the Blue Zones Project expires on Aug. 31, 2021, MMC-BD’s well-being work will be led by its local community health team with support from Marshfield Clinic Health System’s Center for Community Health Advancement.

Inspired by opportunities identified in the 2013 Dodge County Community Health Needs Assessment, the organization stepped up its investment in community well-being by bringing Blue Zones Project’s expertise and training to Dodge County in 2016, leading to its certification as a Blue Zones Community® in 2020.

“We are incredibly appreciative of the tremendous amount of hard work put in by so many in our community over the last several years,” said Angelia Foster, Chief Administrative Officer of MMC-BD. “We brought Blue Zones Project to Dodge County to provide us with valuable guidance and infrastructure, and to help us implement sustainable, evidence-based programs and initiatives that will improve health and well-being for generations to come. We are proud to say our partnership with Blue Zones Project has helped us develop an incredible foundation from which to build upon during the next phase of our well-being journey.”

The MMC-BD Leadership Team and the MMC-BD Community Advisory Board are intent on keeping the momentum going and will be focusing its upcoming community wellness efforts on the recently completed Community Health Needs Assessment. Mental and behavioral health are expected to be among the priorities identified. Following this transition, Dodge County will become a Blue Zones Project Legacy Community, allowing it to continue to celebrate its certified status for the next two years.

As part of the transition:

• All current MMC-BD staff working on the Blue Zones Project will continue their employment as part of Marshfield Clinic Health System
• A newly established MMC-BD Community Health Committee made of community representatives and community leaders, will be established to make recommendations about programs and initiatives moving forward

More information on the next phase of MMC-BD’s community well-being efforts will be announced in September.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Marshfield Medical Center-Beaver Dam (MMC-BD) making this transition?

• Bringing Blue Zones Project® by Sharecare to Dodge County allowed MMC-BD to build a foundation of evidence-based environmental changes, programs and initiatives that helped make the healthy choice, the easy choice for more of our community members
• Five years into our partnership, the MMC-BD Leadership Team, MMC-BD Community Advisory Board and the MMC-BD Community Health Team believe now is the right time to build upon that foundation with a new phase that is driven locally and focuses on community well-being priorities identified in our Community Health Needs Assesment

Does this move reflect a change in MMC-BD’s commitment to community well-being?

• No — Marshfield Clinic Health System and MMC-BD are as committed, if not more so, to community health and well-being now than we were when Blue Zones Project was brought to Dodge County
• The mission remains the same and the work will continue — just in a different way
• Blue Zones Project was instrumental in showing community members, organizations, and leaders how they could come together and implement policies and programs that create sustainable and long-term changes in their environment — and we will continue to build upon that foundation

What will happen to the local Blue Zones Project staff?

• All current MMC-BD staff working on the Blue Zones Project will continue their employment with Marshfield Clinic Health System

How does MMC-BD plan on continuing the important community well-being work?

• The MMC-BD Community Health Team will lead this next chapter in our community well-being work with support from the Marshfield Clinic Health System’s Center for Community Health advancement
• A newly established MMC-BD Community Health Committee comprised of community representatives and leaders will be established to make recommendations about programs and initiatives moving forward
• The MMC-BD Community Advisory Board will continue reviewing Community Health Needs Assessments and recommending priorities for addressing such community needs
• MMC-BD will continue to listen to its community members and review available well-being data, including Community Health Needs Assessments, to develop priorities that lead to more positive outcomes

What happens to Blue Zones approved restaurants, worksites, etc.?

• Dodge County will move to Blue Zones Project Legacy Community status and will be considered a Blue Zones Project Certified Community until June 30, 2023
• Blue Zones Project Approved™ organizations, like, schools, worksites, grocery stores, restaurants, and faith-based institutions can continue referring to themselves as Blue Zones Project Approved through June 30, 2023
• Following the expiration of the community’s Certification Period, the organizations’ status will expire also; these organizations will refer to themselves as Blue Zones Project Approved worksite 20XX (year they received designation), Blue Zones Project Approved restaurant 20XX, Blue Zones Project Approved grocery store 20XX, or Blue Zones Project Approved school 20XX

What will the community health program be called after Aug. 31?

• Stay tuned – more information will be released closer to Sept. 1