The three cities of the Lehigh Valley are embarking on an effort to improve the health and lives of their residents by making healthy choices an easier option. That plan was unveiled Thursday morning in the packed event hall of the Americus Hotel in downtown Allentown: Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton all will participate in a five-year Blue Zones project thanks to Lehigh Valley Health Network and developer City Center Investment Corp. to improve the well-being of residents through community initiatives.
The project began in 2023 with a feasibility assessment. Over the next five years, the Blue Zones project committee will work with local governments, nonprofits and businesses to try to improve places where residents spend most of their time, such as streets, parks, schools, workplaces, grocery stores and housing, so that living a healthy, active and more fulfilling life is easier. Dr.
Brian Nester, president and CEO of LVHN, said at the event that population efforts such as Blue Zones are key to better overall health outcomes in the community and inside health care settings. Nester said he was something he realized after the Affordable Care Act was passed. He said there is no future for health care under a fee-for-service model and that more needs to be done to address health within communities before people are in the emergency room.
“What we have to do is make the healthy choice the easy choice,” Nester said. Blue Zones are cultures across the world that are purported t.