Blue Zones Project contributes toward prestigious award win

Blue Zones Project contributes toward prestigious award win

Published on May 17, 2022

Fort Worth is making healthier choices, and everyone is taking notice. Blue Zones Project Fort Worth was one of three Texas Health Resource initiatives that led to the hospital system receiving the prestigious 2022 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service from the American Hospital Association.

The award recognizes hospitals for exemplary commitment to establishing and facilitating programs that improve the overall health and well-being of the community. Texas Health will receive $100,000 to put toward programs that further those goals. The prize is sponsored by the Baxter International Foundation, the American Hospital Association and its non-profit affiliate Health Research & Educational Trust.

The awards committee said Blue Zones Project could be used as a model for improving the health status of other communities. It recognized the project for exceeding targets set to engage individuals and organizations, implementing citywide policy changes, and helping Fort Worth achieve a neighborhood-by-neighborhood transformation.

Blue Zones Project is a community-led well-being improvement initiative under the leadership of North Texas Healthy Communities, the nonprofit outreach arm of Texas Health. The initiative supports Texas Health efforts to respond to health disparities, eliminate root causes of chronic disease, and provide tools that instill lifelong health and well-being for all North Texans.

"We know that community well-being is bolstered by removing barriers to healthy behaviors," said Matt Dufrene, vice president of Blue Zones Project. "We are committed to working with individual citizens and community partners to build a healthier community."

Photo:Texas Health Resource leaders and Blue Zones staff receive the prestigious Foster G. McGaw Prize.

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• Health & Lifestyle