A.G. Gancarski
One of the byproducts of Jacksonville’s unique consolidated government is that some parts of town do as well as anywhere, and other parts have issues that are rooted in poverty and unresolved historic inequities.
One jarring example of those inequities: the issues in Health Zone 1, which are heartbreaking.
Half of all children live in poverty. Two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese. Less than a sixth of the population has post-secondary education.
These are issues that cry out for resolution. It won’t be immediate. And it will take some help.
And the GE Foundation is on it.
GE, on Tuesday, committed $250,000 for two years of Jacksonville health screenings, via the AGAPE Community Health Center Network (whose CEO is State Rep. Mia Jones).
The money will allow screenings of those who need it the most, pushing preventive maintenance in order to preclude the stark reality: many of those who have cardiovascular issues that are unremedied end up getting treatment in emergency rooms.
And for many, it is too late. Death comes for some. Incapacitation, for others.
Rep. Jones mentioned the heartbreak of seeing someone “walking down the street, who is 30 or 40 years old, who clearly has had a stroke.”
Heartbreaking. And, perhaps, avoidable with screenings.
The GE Foundation believes that 10,000 people can be screened with this money, with an eye toward spotting the early signs of heart disease. And success has come with a similar program before.
In Chicago, two years ago, GE brought a similar program to 30,000 people. Half of them were at risk.
City leaders lauded the donation.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said “this is a statement… we have a lot to be proud of today.”
Curry, whose Journey to One health initiative is intended to move Jacksonville up from its ranking as only the 48th best county in terms of health outcomes in the state, called GE’s quarter million dollars a “significant investment” in health and quality of life.
And those are important metrics.
Curry noted that in Health Zone 1, deaths from cardiovascular issues exceed deaths from homicide by “nearly 800 percent.”
Other city officials addressed the issues in Health Zone 1 as well.
Kelly Wells, director of the Health Department, spoke to how solutions to issues like this “have to be multi-factorial,” noting that in Health Zone 1, the life expectancy of an African-American male is “significantly shorter” than in other areas.
Council President-in-waiting Lori Boyer, meanwhile, noted that there are many potential avenues which policymakers can take to coordinate efforts, including “bringing together groups working in the field” and facilitating “access to healthy foods.”
“There’s a very long list of opportunities,” Boyer added, including tailoring programs to specific communities.
In NW Jax, Boyer added, programs in community centers and senior centers can help.
Jones was asked to define success, and her metric was pretty fixed.
“At least half of those who don’t have a medical home would have one within two years.”
The first step toward that is screening and awareness.
And the GE Foundation did its part this week to help that process, focusing on those who need it the most.
