Although sure there are acute conditions that pop up every so often, the impact of chronic illness impacts many lives, but is not as obvious. The Cayuga County Department of Health, Department of Community Health Services is working on taking many steps to make the outdoors of Cayuga County more accessible and an atmosphere where families can live, eat, and play outdoors safely and conveniently. A few of the initiatives include creating community gardens, partnering with restaurants to offer healthier menu choices, promoting farmer's markets and local produce, enhancing county trails, and working on transportation policies. All of these efforts will make a huge difference in a rural community like Cayuga-- there is so much space and so many resources for healthy produce, outdoor physical activity, and overall healthy choices that will lower risk of obesity, type two diabetes, and more. However, without initiatives like this, oftentimes, county citizens are just not aware that they too could walk on trails and even grow their own fresh produce. Also, throughout working with Cayuga County this year, I've heard numerous times what an issue transportation is. So although this is more of a general initiative, improving transportation policies and making streets safer will allow children to play outside more often, and it will allow those who might not otherwise have access to the hospital, to be able to get adequate healthcare.
As a doctor, I think my role in promoting healthy living is extremely important and its all about the resources I'm aware of and what I suggest to my patients. I can only make a difference if I give them a "prescription" for ways they can change their lifestyles feasibly and start living a healthier life.
http://web.cayugacounty.us/web/Departments/HealthDepartment/CommunityHealthServices/CreatingHealthyPlacestoLiveWorkandPlay.aspx
We as doctors and healthcare providers are part of a community. As you say, we need to encourage healthy life styles in order to prevent serious medical issues from taking hold whenever possible! Glad to know Cayuga County recognizes the importance of this.
ReplyDeleteHealthy initiatives as mentioned in your post may also save money in the long-term. Much of our healthcare dollars are going towards treating chronic conditions such as diabetes, htn and heart disease. If residents were to exercise and eat better we could reduce these overall costs. Of course finances are only a small part of enacting these changes. Rural providers are part of a community and thus the well being and health of those in the community is of the utmost importance. I hope that in the future many rural counties implement similar initiatives to those discussed above.
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be reassuring in that I think that every county needs to embrace healthy initiatives. As future healthcare providers, I think we will see an overwhelming amount of the conditions you mentioned, such as Type II DM and heart disease, which can be attributed to the rise in obesity. I also liked your comment about the "prescription" of healthy lifestyle changes. I think you have a great point in that we can make a great impact on our patients by simply suggesting lifestyle changes. Nice job, Jessica!
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a big issue. The reality is that medicine has progressed to a point that 'developed' countries just don't have the same acute infections and diseases that were once major health burdens. This leaves environmental issues such as nutrition and behavior to make up a large portion of our future patient population. Initiatives that combat obesity, diabetes, and other issues are only going to grow in importance.
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