Fayette County — the least healthy of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, according to one ranking — is undertaking an ambitious effort to shed those extra pounds, with the idea of boosting worker productivity and tamping down health insurance premiums along the way.
The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, businesses and nonprofits have lined up behind a 3-year-old effort to improve public health by encouraging fitness, stress relief and good eating habits. Minneapolis-based Blue Zones LLC and Sharecare Inc. of Atlanta are partners in the Fayette County project, which is not expected to yield results for three to five years.
“These are community-driven projects,” Michael Acker, senior vice president and general manager, community and urban services at Sharecare Inc., told government and business leaders at an organizational meeting at the Penn State University branch campus in North Union Township on Wednesday. “Healthier people cost less and perform better. We think there is a tremendous opportunity here for significant impact.”
Blue Zones is a community-led health improvement company founded in 2010 by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and author, which has helped improve public health in 70-plus communities in the U.S., including Corry, Pa., in Erie County. Grants and private businesses fund the health improvements, which have led to higher revenue for businesses like grocery stores and restaurants where the program has been tried. Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, a nonprofit faith-based health system that employs 34,000 people, acquired Blue Zones in 2020.
WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital is among the backers of the effort in Fayette County.
Improving public health in a rural, southwestern Pennsylvania county of some 129,000 people — where 27% of the children live in poverty, according to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute — could be challenging. Fayette County ranks least healthy among the state’s counties and has the state’s highest obesity rate at 37%.
Those numbers mar Fayette County’s natural beauty, abundant outdoor recreational opportunities and low cost of living that might attract new residents and businesses, said Devan White, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce board president.
“Our demographics aren’t sparkling,” said Ms. White, 33, a Perryopolis resident who works as a financial adviser at the Uniontown offices of Wealth Enhancement Group. “It’s a domino effect: Happier people are more productive people.”
In addition to obesity, Fayette County faces challenges of generational poverty, public apathy and low education attainment in implementing the program, according to a Blue Zones analysis. But the effort also has the support of more than 100 community leaders and $5 million in anticipated community grants, plus $179 million in projected worker productivity gains over 10 years.
The rising cost of health insurance attracted Michael J. Quinn, CEO of Chestnut Ridge Counseling Services, to the Blue Zones program. The Uniontown-based behavioral health agency, which employs 200 people, faces a 12% premium increase effective July 1.
“Anything we can do to keep our employees healthy is worth it,” said Mr. Quinn, 62. “I want my employees healthy. It just takes four or five sick folks, and up it goes,” he said about premiums.
The Blue Zones project in Fayette County will move ahead by appointing an executive director and eliciting support from businesses, schools and government officials in the county. Commissioner Scott Dunn said the board was already behind the effort, seeing grant funding to expand walking trails in all county parks.
Kris B. Mamula: kmamula@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1699.
First Published: April 21, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: April 22, 2022, 9:52 a.m.
