A.G. Gancarski
From 48 to 1. That’s the goal.
Duval County is currently ranked 48 out of 67 Florida counties for quality health outcomes, according to 2016 results released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. That’s a five-place decline from the previous year.
With Journey to One, Mayor Lenny Curry (the most health-conscious mayor in Jacksonville history) is committing to changing those health outcomes, as he discussed Thursday in tandem with Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General who spoke earlier in the day on the theme of a “culture of prevention.”
Curry and Murthy both had nothing but positive things to say.
Curry noted that there has been a “world of community support for the health of all Jacksonville residents,” and lauded the I’m A Star Foundation for its “fine work [that] attracted the attention of America’s top doctor.”
Saying that the “health of our city is defined by the well being of our citizens,” Curry noted that 48th place is “not the ranking I want for our city.”
To that end, he endeavored to “sound the alarm,” touting partnerships of community stakeholders to promote walkability, eliminate food deserts, and work toward a safer and healthier community.
One initiative: “monthly mayorthons,” which challenge locals to walk, run, or step master 26.2 miles a month. To that end, Curry will host walks around town, toward a larger challenge to locals to lose 1 million pounds … about a pound per resident.
Murthy, meanwhile, reiterated his comments from earlier in the day about the “tsunami of chronic disease” afflicting Americans, lauding the “mayor’s commitment to health.”
“As you work on Journey to One,” Murthy said, “what you are doing will … serve as an example to the rest of the country.”
