|
 Dyson, an early investor in Square and board member for Yandex,
Russia's answer to Google Inc, has drafted five towns to participate
in a five-year long test, or what she calls a "healthy living
challenge."
By introducing programs and urban planning initiatives, such as
wholesome school lunches, corporate wellness programs and more bike
paths, Dyson hopes to reduce overall rates of obesity and chronic
disease in these towns.
Dyson calls this the "Way to Wellville," where such programs
reinforce each other, promote awareness, and hopefully avert
expensive healthcare costs over the long term.
Its sponsor is a nonprofit organization called the Health Initiative
Coordinating Council, or HICCup, which Dyson founded. HICCup will
help local officials find funding from social investors, local
businesses and philanthropic organizations.
Each of the towns expects to spend between $20 million and $80
million over the next five years. HICCup, run by former insurance
executive Rick Brush, has set aside some $5 million for
administrative costs.
The five towns are: Muskegon, Michigan; Lake County, California;
Spartanburg, South Carolina; Clatsop County, Oregon; and Niagara
falls, New York. These communities all have populations of less than
100,000 people, and their local officials are fully on board with
the initiative, Dyson said.
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Dyson hopes to establish a model for other communities and provide
direct feedback to policymakers in government. Her experiment is
timely, given the Obama Administration's support for "population
health" initiatives as a means to cut spiraling costs. Population
health advocates push for increased funding for preventative
measures for groups of patients to reduce rates of chronic illness.
For instance, if a town invests a small sum into programs to inform
citizens about the health risks associated with fast food, as well
as counseling for pre-diabetes, it could avoid thousands of dollars
in medical care and reduced work productivity.
"The programs by and large won't be remarkable," Dyson said. "What's
remarkable is doing them together, reinforcing one another, and
critical density, in small self-contained communities where they
will have maximum impact."
(Reporting By Christina Farr. Editing by Andre Grenon)
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